


Practice with Kuroko

by ErinTheOtaku



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Competitive GOM, Cute, Fluff, Kisses, M/M, POV Multiple, Romance, everyone loves kuroko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 49,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2536025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinTheOtaku/pseuds/ErinTheOtaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The generation of miracles who are all; surprise, surprise, in love with Kuroko; each get to spend some time alone with him in practice. Will any of them manage to win his heart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to put all my stories from fanfiction.net on here too, so if by any chance this seems familiar, that is why. :) Enjoy!

Kuroko's POV:  
"Kurokochi!"  
"Tetsu!"  
"Kurochiiin."  
"Kuroko…"  
"Tetsuya." I hear each voice of the five people I know so well call out as I appear in front of them, to their eyes, well, to everyone's eyes but Akashi's, seemingly out of nowhere. Even though I've been standing here for over ten minutes now. It's always like this, but it's not like it's a bad thing. If I wasn't like this, with such little presence, Akashi never would have noticed me, and I would never be standing in this gym training with such skilled players. It's kind of ironic to think about, that the one thing that got my noticed by the captain of the Teiko basketball team, was the fact that I was never noticed.  
"How long have you been there Kurokochi? We keep telling you not to scare us like that!" Kise whines at me, a puppy dog look in his eyes. I give him a slightly annoyed look, making it seem like I'm offended by his surprise of my presence. Obviously I'm not actually offended, but I don't think anyone can pass up teasing someone who can be as dense as Kise.  
"You were the one who ran in five minutes late today Kise kun. I've been here the whole time." I say with a knowing tone, keeping a completely even voice. Kise sighs with my response, muttering to whoever will listen about how mean I am to bully him, small tears forming in his eyes. The look of annoyance at this turn of events is plain on Akashi's face before he speaks up in an intimidating voice.  
"Ryouta, it is unnecessary for you to complain every time Tetsuya gives you a fright. Going through this scenario almost every day with you makes training take longer and is quite tiring. Don’t do it again." The second shortest member of the team, only a few centimetres higher than me looks straight up into Kise's eyes far above his own and strikes fear into them, despite the obvious difference in stature. Anyone who thinks that size has anything to do with intimidation and power, has clearly never met Akashi. The affect his words have on Kise are both instantaneous and plainly obvious. Sweat drips down the blondes face before he even starts playing, bowing down to Akashi's height to deliver a profuse apology, which the captain accepts before moving on.  
"Anyway, today, each of you will be rotating from normal practice to passing practice with Tetsuya. Ryouta, you were going to be up first but since you annoyed me I'm moving you down to fourth behind Atsushi. But don't be too happy, the only reason I'm not putting you last is because I have club business to organize and will be busy until later. Regardless, Daiki, you're up first so match up with Kuroko, everyone else can do shooting drills until your turn." With those orders handed out, Akashi turns on his heels and walks out of the gym to deal with whatever business he has. All of us break off into our groups; Midorima strutting towards to hoop with Kise complaining behind him and Murasakibara nibbling on pocky as he walks over to join the two. I turn to Aomine and give him a smile, holding my fist up.  
"Looks like we're together for this Tetsu. You'd better do your best if you want to keep up with me." My best friends laughs as he speaks, bringing his fist down to bump against my own.   
"I always do my best Aomine kun." I reply to him with determination that I will be good enough to play alongside him. He brings his hand down once again, this time to ruffle my hair like you would do to a child, before laughing it off and walking to grab a basketball. I stand ready, placing my feet firmly on the ground, but still ready to spring in whatever direction I am needed in as soon as the ball has left Aomine's hands. Even if it's only practice I have to do my best. I have to be where I am needed, and I need to get the ball safely back to Aomine.   
"Well, let's start this." Aomine says, almost with a shake in his voice. I question this, and how different it is from his usual over flowingly confident demeanour. But when he grins at me like his usual self a second later I realise whatever I think just happened was nothing but my imagination. One second he is still grinning with confidence, and in the next the ball is flying at me with speed that could only be generated by Aomine. I take it in stride and move immediately. Three steps to the right, turn with my left foot and thrust my arm forward into the centre of the ball, adding even more momentum and sending it flying back into Aomine's palm.  
"Wow, we really don't call you the phantom sixth man for nothing!" He scoffs in awe, looking down at me with a look of enjoyment on his face before preparing to throw again.

Aomine's POV:  
I'm not the kind of guy who gets excited over things, or fawn over something I like. Hell, I'm not even the kind of guy who likes much at all. But when Akashi tells me that I'm going to be the first to have one on one practice with Tetsu today it makes me excited, and I can’t help but think to myself how lucky I am to get to play with Tetsu, otherwise known to me as the completely unaware subject of my affections. I don't really remember a defining moment when I realised these feelings of mine. I've of course always just assumed that I was attracted to girls, I mean, that's the normal thing. But after I met Tetsu I started to question that, and I guess after a while I came to realise that what I feel for him is more than what I would feel for someone who was just a friend. The way he never gives up, his constant support of all of us from behind the scenes, and possibly the best thing about him; his adorable nature. I love it all. I admire him, and have nothing but respect for him. But that's not the kind of thing I can just casually bring out in conversation. 'So Tetsu, we're working together huh? That's a great thing, seeing as well, y'know, I'm totally in love with you.' Yeah, that would go down so well. And so, instead of doing something like that, I simply grunt in affirmation to Akashi and walk over to Kuroko with a friendly façade on my face.  
"Looks like we're together for this Tetsu. You'd better do your best if you want to keep up with me." I laugh as I bring my fist down to his, using the sound to hide the slight nervousness lingering in my mouth. I am a confident guy, a lot of people would actually say I'm so overconfident that I'm actually kind of a jerk. But recently I've found myself increasingly shy around Kuroko. Although despite all my worrying, Tetsu, oblivious as he is, doesn't see the strain behind my gesture and only sees a laughing friend.   
"I always do my best Aomine kun." He looks up at me with determination as he talks, becoming the very picture of the Tetsu I admire so much, the one that loves basketball just as much as I do. I swear his eyes sparkle for a second, as if bringing a physical form to his determination. I can’t stop myself from reaching down again, this time to ruffle his powder blue hair, needing at least some sort of contact. I manage to pull my hand away after a second, laughing once again to hide my real intentions and walking off to grab a basketball. Geez, is it really this hard to even have a conversation with him now? Just hearing his voice is enough to make me want to reach out and grab him, to bring him close and hold him tight. What am I thinking? This isn't even a romantic place! We're in the middle of goddamn training! I need to calm myself the hell down. I make my way back to where Tetsu is standing ready slowly, taking a deep breath before talking.  
"Well, let's start this." Even after my attempt at staying calm my voice still catches in the middle of my sentence, making it sound shaky and nervous. Can't I do anything other than basketball right? I berate myself at my utter inability to do something as simple as talk to someone, but when I look at Tetsu I realise that he has barely noticed my slip up. I take advantage of his dense nature and give him a quick grin, trying to look like my usual self. From the minimal amount of emotion on his face, I think I can tell that he's dismissed any thoughts of my odd behaviour. I leave myself no more time to think and just get straight into it, putting all my strength behind my pass and sending it flying out of my hands. It veers a little bit to Tetsu's right, but he's there in an instant and I am forced to thrust my hands forward to catch the ball already rushing back at me, coming even faster than when I threw it. I hear the sound of the ball impacting with my hands and coming to a complete stop like a crack of lightning. The impact itself makes my hands tingle, I've caught Tetsu's passes so many times before, but I'm still not quite used to this one. His 'ignite pass', which out of all the Teiko members, only I can catch. It always leaves a slight sting on my hands. I stare at him in amazement, words slipping out of my mouth before I even realise it.  
"Wow, we really don't call you the phantom sixth man for nothing!" I blurt out in complete awe of Tetsu, totally impressed by both the speed and the power of his strongest pass. My words put a smile on his face, and he looks genuinely happy to receive such a compliment. I feel proud to have been able to put a smile on his usually emotionless face, but at the same time slightly awkward. I never would have felt like this before, especially not in a situation as seemingly mundane as this. But it's hard to think rationally when the sound of my heart beating faster and faster within my chest is filling my ears. Snap out of this you idiot! For gods sake your practicing basketball not dancing at the damn prom. Stop acting like a 15 year old girl and just throw the ball! I manage to talk some sense into myself and start up the passing drill again. No matter how quick or where I throw the ball to, Tetsu is always there and he sends it straight back to me with one of his magic passes. The more time we spend practicing together the more I am able to relax, and eventually I have calmed down to the point of actually being able to talk to him properly while we throw to each other.  
"Hey Tetsu, are you doing anything after practice today?" I ask as I pass the ball to him. He spins to tap it back and mutters as he does.  
"Well, I was just going to study for the upcoming tests." He stands up straight and stops the drill for a second as he finishes his response. "Why, did you want to do something?" He questions me perfectly innocently, but despite knowing just how platonic Tetsu sees our relationship, and despite the fact that I know full well he sees my offer as an invitation to hang out as friends, I still can't stop my excitement as it fills me up and threatens to spill out my mouth, which is currently struggling to make words.  
"Well, uh, I was thinking we could go shopping for uh, for some new basketball shoes." I subconsciously scratch my head as a sign of nervousness as I make up my excuse to ask Tetsu out somewhere. When I look down at him trying to hide the anxiousness I'm feeling, confusion fills his face.  
"Basketball shoes? But didn't you buy new ones just two weeks ago?" He questions me, bending down as he does to get a closer look at my feet. "See? These ones look just fine." Tetsu says in a monotone voice before jumping back up and looking up at me, waiting expectantly for a response. I feel like a fish out of water, struggling just to breathe. But I can't be like this. I'm better than this dammit. I channel my normal self, the one with confidence practically oozing out and look down to face Tetsu, allowing myself to look into the eyes I adore so much. I will be assertive like I would with anyone else, I won't be some bumbling school girl.  
"They may look fine but they're pretty worn out, and I can't train properly with bad shoes. It must be because I'm always so fast on the court, not even my equipment is strong enough for me." I thrust away all my nervousness and speak only with confidence, a grin on my face.   
"Anyway, are you coming or not? I can ask Satsuki if you won't." I don't want to ask Satsuki, she'll only be a pain. But when I see the pleasant smile on Tetsu's face I know I won't have to.  
"No, no. I'll come Aomine kun. It should be fun." His acceptance of my offer turns me back into a total idiot, smiling a big, goofy smile and cheering inside my head. I am already planning what I will do, I know which shoes I like for basketball, so I always get the same pair from this one store. I can get it done in 5 minutes, top. Once we buy them I'll offer to buy him a vanilla milkshake at his favourite place, Maji burger. Yeah, then it'll be almost like a date. While the wheels are turning rapidly in my head as I plan my afternoon with Tetsu, he is already ready to start practicing again, signalling for me to throw to him again. I pull myself out of my trance and throw it, only to be forced to catch it again seconds later, and keep it in my hands.  
"Aomine kun?" Tetsu questions, looking at me quizzically, but I ignore his gaze and think to myself. If this afternoon is going to be like a date, then maybe I'll be able to confess to him. What if I do it now? Everyone else is practicing in the other half of the gym, they can't hear me. I could do it. Right now while I'm in a rare bout of confidence around Tetsu. But wait, wait a second. Why am I thinking he's going to just accept this? Why the hell would I think that? He's a freaking guy! They like girls, not their basketball teammates! But I could do it. I could. To hell with the consequences. I open my mouth to start, I can't say anything. Oh god I am going to regret this. I am so going to regret this. What the hell right? Right?  
"Tetsu, I…" Now or nothing. Come on you idiot! "I li-" I stagger out, my face heating up and turning bright red, but I am stopped by a tap on my shoulder from behind. I turn around at light speed to see who the hand owns to, only to see a green head of hair.   
"Midorima you bastard!" I scream out, confusion clear on the shooters face and rage and embarrassment clear on mine. I was about to confess! I was prepared to do it no matter what the consequences! And he had to ruin it the bastard!  
"I don't know what your problem is Aomine but it's my turn to practice with Kuroko." Damn it all to hell! Trust him to ruin everything! I storm away in anger, dropping the ball I'm still holding and kicking it at the wall, sending it flying with the power of my frustration. God dammit! How can this all be so hard? Why does it have to be this hard to tell someone I love them?  
"I'll see you this afternoon Aomine kun." I hear Tetsu call out behind me, but I don't look back at him, instead I just power straight out of the door to the gym and don't stop till I arrive at the bubblers. I spray the water in my face, cooling myself down. I need to think. That was stupid. I'm pissed at Midorima but it might have been a good thing that he interrupted us. Tetsu would have rejected me. How on earth did I manage to convince myself that he wouldn’t? I walk to the nearest wall and let myself slide down its course surface, letting myself fall down until I hit the ground and bury my head in-between my legs.  
"Why does it have to be so hard?" I ask myself for what feels like the millionth time, starting to feel moisture pool in my eyes. I'm not the kind of guy who cries. I'm not, I tell myself. But no matter how much I deny it, I can't deny the liquid I feel pouring down my face. What am I going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

Midorima's POV:  
I notice the time on the clock on the wall of the gym and realise it's time for me to switch with Aomine. This last 20 minutes has been excruciating. Every time I turn around I see those two. The two 'best friends', the so called light and shadow. And even if that wasn't enough, a Virgo like Aomine has much better compatibility with Kuroko than me. Cancer and Aquarius aren't supposed to even get along. So why is it that despite all that, I still find myself drawn to Kuroko? I don't even know myself really, he should annoy me. I should look down on his style of basketball, he can't even score. Without a team to back him up he can't do anything. But despite those facts, I don't think badly of his basketball. I admire it. To dedicate yourself so fully to one aspect of the game, and to care more about helping teammates score than glory for yourself, that's what Kuroko's basketball is in my eyes. And that is why watching him playing with Aomine and being so friendly with him drives me insane. Why is that arrogant bastard able to get along with Kuroko so easily, when it's so hard for me? I try to be friendly with him, to not be so rude and curt when talking to him. But I always find myself judging my actions, and then being disgusted by them. Every time I try to be nice to him I can't help but be totally embarrassed. As if just being friendly with him is a sign that I like him, and that if I show off those signs he will find out my feelings, and will reject them. I know it's convoluted. I don't even quite understand my explanation myself. The one word which would probably fit me best would be tsundere, that's what people always call me anyway. But I would never admit that the word people use to tease me is actually an accurate description of the way I act. All these thoughts race through my mind as I walk over to Kuroko, the same thoughts that are perpetually bouncing around in my head every night before I sleep, and every morning when I wake up. Sometimes I don't even know why I bother, Kuroko is obviously straight, me liking him isn't going to change that. But even so, it's not like knowing that can stop my feelings for him. I can hear the beating of my heart start to pick up pace as I reach out to tap Aomine on the shoulder, to send him away so that I will be alone with Kuroko. Really? My heart is racing over something as simple as practicing passing with him? Am I really this bad?  
"Midorima you bastard!" The moment I tap Aomine he spins around at an insane speed and screams out, pure rage painted on his face. He catches me off guard, I have no idea what has caused this extreme reaction. I stumble backwards, as if his voice had an actual physical force accompanying it that pushed me back. I notice that my glasses have fallen down my face in my stumble, I bring my hand up to push them back up, taking the time to calm myself and replace the surprised look on my face to a patronizing one.  
"I don't know what your problem is Aomine but it's my turn to practice with Kuroko." I state matter of factly, a rude tone lacing my voice. I try to be nice around Kuroko, I try my very best. But I see no reason to give the same effort to this arrogant prick. I don’t know if it was what I said, or if Aomine is just in a bad mood, but he doesn't take long to storm out of the gym, kicking the basketball in his hands at the wall with immense fury as he does. Either way, I don't care why he was so annoyed. All I care about is the fact that he is now gone, which means two things. First, I doubt he'll be coming back to practice today after that display, so I won't have to see or deal with him until at least tomorrow. And secondly, for at least the next 20 minutes until Murasakibara comes over and interrupts us, I will be able to train one on one with Kuroko. Just the two of us. The thought alone makes me blush, just slightly. But I hide it instantly, knowing I could never let Kuroko see me like this. I look over to him to see him calling out to Aomine, even though he's already walking out the gym door.  
"I'll see you this afternoon Aomine kun." This afternoon? Did they make plans? Damn him! I am going to have to find out more about this. After seeing Aomine completely ignore his words, Kuroko turns to me with a worried look on his face.  
"Sorry about that Midorima kun, he seems to be mad about something. Do you think he's all right?" He asks me in concern, his clear blue eyes looking up at me just like a puppy's. I feel my blush returning, even stronger this time. God dammit! Why does he have to make such a cute face? I really can't handle it! When he notices my face his look changes from worry to confusion, but it doesn't get any less cute. I turn my head to the door, as if looking for where Aomine went. But in reality, I'm just desperately trying to hide my blush. It takes everything in me to turn my face back to its normal hue before I am able to turn back to Kuroko and reply.  
"Hmph, I wouldn't worry too much about that oaf. I'm sure he's all worked up about something stupid. Anyway, forget him for now. Let's just practice." I say, trying to convince him to forget about Aomine and focus on practicing with him. He thinks about what I've said for a second before nodding at me in agreement.  
"Yes, you're probably right. I'm sorry for involving you in someone else's problem. Let's get to practicing." As Kuroko walks over to pick up the ball Aomine kicked away I easily notice the well defined muscles in his legs, pulsating with every step he takes. He's only a small boy, and despite his skill in basketball he's not all that athletic. But he still works hard every day in an attempt to be; trying desperately to raise his strength and stamina. And god damn it shows in those muscles. I can imagine touching them myself, running my hand down the contours of his legs, his thighs, until I reach just that little bit higher…  
"Midorima kun? Hello? Do you want to start now?" I snap myself out of my indecent fantasy, my face turning red and my vision filled with blue. Kuroko is standing on his toes, trying to reach up to me. Waving his hand in front of my face in an attempt to gain my attention.  
"K-k-ku-kuroko!" I scramble out, utterly mortified at the thoughts racing through my head. How could I think about that sort of stuff now? In the middle of basketball practice, why on earth am I having this smutty fantasy?  
"You finally got the ball, took you long enough." I almost scream out, judgement heavily laced through my voice. Why am I saying this? I was the one not paying attention to practice and thinking dirty thoughts instead!  
"Are you ever going to pass it to me, or did walking to pick it up take all your effort?" What the hell was that? Where did that come from? Get yourself together Midorima, now is not the time to act like such a damn tsundere! At this rate the twenty minutes will be up and all you'll have done will be insult Kuroko!  
"Sorry Midorima kun, I'll hurry up and start." A look of sadness brings itself to Kuroko's face, I can tell he feels guilty. But he shouldn’t feel bad over what I said. It was just a bunch of crap I spouted to hide my embarrassment. God, could I be a worse person? He swallows a breath and composes himself, before finally starting to pass. I catch the ball in my right hand, letting my hand linger over the surface Kuroko has touched before sending it back. We both run up and down the court as we pass, practice passing at all different angles. The monotonous movement calms me down a little, as the blush recedes from my face, my thoughts start to clear. I try to forgive myself for my words to Kuroko, but I know I can’t. I can't forgive myself for stuffing up again, for being so damn rude. But I can at least try and make up for it. And get a bit closer to Kuroko at the same time.  
"Hey Kuroko." I call out in the middle of a pass.   
"Yes, Midorima kun?" He replies, perfectly polite, despite how I spoke to him earlier.  
"When you were calling out to Aomine before, what did you mean about seeing him later today?" I build up my courage and ask him, wanting to know if it was him or Aomine who invited the other.  
"Oh, that? Aomine asked me to come shopping with him, why are you interested, would you like to come?" Relief washes over me, I'm annoyed as hell at Aomine for trying to get ahead of me. But at least I know that Kuroko didn't invite him himself. They're good enough friends already. It's hard enough for me to try and catch up to Aomine and get closer to Kuroko than him. If Kuroko was asking Aomine to accompany him and not asking me, that would be a real problem. When Kuroko is still looking at me expectantly, I remember that he didn't just tell me who invited him, he asked me a question too.  
"I-I don't have any reason to spend time with either of you outside of school." There I go again. Do I have to be such a jerk?  
"But, I need to buy, … ah," Crap, think of something! "my lucky item! Yes, I need tomorrows, so I might as well go with you, maybe you'll be able to help me find it. Then you could actually be useful." I curse myself for my spiteful comments, but at least I managed to accept his offer. I can make up for my behaviour later.   
"That's great to hear, Midorima kun. It should be fun helping you look for whatever odd item you need next!" A smile lights up his face and I swear my heart melts. Can… can something be this cute? Am I hallucinating? I pinch myself, the slight pain annoys me for a second, but nothing in my vision changes. Kuroko's smile is still shining in front of me. It's just a smile, just a movement of muscles in order to change a facial expression. That shouldn't be such a big deal, such a mundane thing. I shouldn't be getting worked up over this.  
"I'm not saying yes because I want to be with you, so you don’t need to be so happy. I'm just doing you a favour, I could find my lucky item on my own, I just thought you'd get all sad if I said no." I continue on in my rambling, trying to make sure he understands that I'm not saying yes because I want to, that I'm forcing myself to agree. Even if that's not the truth.  
"I understand Midorima kun, thanks for thinking of me." And there's the blush, how many times is that today god dammit?  
"I'm not thinking of you! It'll just be quicker!" I scream back, loud enough for everyone in the gym to hear. I am embarrassed, to say that is an understatement. I look at the clock to see that I only have 2 minutes left with Kuroko anyway. I start to walk away.  
"I'm done practicing. I don't need to do this anyway, passing is already such an easy concept for me." I state as I storm off, tapping Murasakibara on my way and pushing him towards Kuroko, so that he can spend time with him, and get closer to my Kuroko. Mine.   
"Thanks, Mido chin." I spit a dirty look at Murasakibara, he hasn’t done anything at all, and yet I am infuriated at him, just because he will be near Kuroko when I won't. I need to get myself out of here and just cool down. This afternoon, this will be my chance. I take a deep breath, thinking about what I will do. I won’t be rude, I will tolerate Aomine for Kuroko's sake, but after he leaves, I will try my very best to finally tell Kuroko how I feel. I can do this, I can.


	3. Chapter 3

Murasakibara's POV:  
Shooting practice is so boring. Mine chin was going to join us but then he stormed out of the gym. He's fun to practice with, he can stand up against me. Mido chin is okay too, he can't defend against me but it's challenging for even me to stop his high arc shots. But he's gone too, off practice his passing with Kuro chin. Now I'm stuck here with only Kise chin. I walk off the court for a minute to take a chip out of the bag I kept on the bench. The chip is yum, it makes me happy. But not a second later my happiness evaporates, along with a very annoying voice.  
"Murasakibarachi! You're supposed to be defending against me! Stop eating snacks and practice with me!" Kise yells out from under the hoop, arms flailing wildly as he does. Ugh, I hate talking to him. It takes so much effort.  
"Kise chin, don't yell at me. You're boring to defend, you're the worst out of all of us." I say to him in a monotone voice; causing tears to pool around the edges of his eyes.  
"Even you are bullying me Murasakichi? Don't you feel bad for me whenever Aomine whacks me, or when Akashi and Midorima yell at me? Why is it always me that everyone picks on?" His voice pounds in my ears, it's too shrill. It hurts my ear drums. I want to go and practice with Kuroko, he's my favourite to be with. I look at the clock, still two minutes to go.  
"Kise chin you're making my ears hurt." I sigh out, hoping it will quiet him. It only makes him yell more. I ignore him and go back to my snacks, picking up my bag of chips and eating as I stand. I tune out Kise's voice and pay attention to Kuro chin instead. Him and Mido chin have slowed down their passing, it looks like the practice isn’t their priority. Mido chin is yelling at Kuro chin again, what a surprise. His face is all red; I wonder if he got a fever? Maybe I should invite him to buy popsicles with me this afternoon. I could invite Kuroko too, that would be fun. I don’t really know why, but whenever I'm with him my chest starts to get really tight, and it kind of hurts. But it's not like the pain I get from Kise chin 's voice, or from being punched. It's a nice hurt, I like it. Just as I make the decision to walk over and invite them both out this afternoon, Mido chin walks over to me and pushes me towards Kuro chin. I don't really know why he's doing this; he's still supposed to be with Kuro chin for the next two minutes. But it doesn't really matter, maybe he's letting me have some extra time with Kuro chin. How nice of him. He looks busy, I'll have to invite him out later.  
"Thanks, Mido chin." I tell him, but he just walks straight past me.   
"Hi, Murasakibara kun. It's a little early, but do you want to practice?" Kuro chin smiles at me as he talks. He doesn't seem fazed by whatever Mido chin was yelling about just before. That's good, Kuro chin isn't one to hold a grudge.  
"Hi Kuro chiiin, do you want a snack before we start?" I ask him, shoving the now empty back of chips into my pocket and bringing out a box of pocky.   
"It's vanilla flavoured, your favourite." I put one in my own mouth as I tell him, savouring the sweets taste. I wonder which is sweeter, pocky or Kuroko? I want to know.  
"Thank you Murasakibara kun, I'll take one." Kuroko reaches up to take a stick out of the box, having to stand on his toes just to reach my arm. He's so little, he barely even reaches my chest. It's so cute. Just as his hand reaches into the box I pull it up higher, far out of his reach.  
"I thought you said I could have one?" He asks me, clearly disappointed that I took away his sweets. But I need to, in order to find out how sweet he is.   
"I'll give you one Kuro chin, if you play a game with me."   
"A game?" He looks up at me with confusion, I pick up a piece of pocky for myself and place it in my mouth, biting down on it but not eating it yet.  
"I want to play the pocky game." I bend down to Kuroko's level as I speak, poking him gently in the cheek with the sweet. His face grows slightly red, maybe he has a fever as well?  
"Murasakibara kun, we're in the middle of practice. Isn't that a little… inappropriate?" Inappropriate? What is Kuro chin talking about? There's nothing wrong with eating snacks, even if it is during practice.  
"Aka chin told me I could eat snacks during practice if I trained properly. If Aka chin says it's fine then I can do it!" I tell him triumphantly, proud of my perfect recollection of the rule Aka chin made me remember. But Kuro chin still doesn't look convinced.  
"It's not about us eating snacks, don't you know why that would be weird?" Kuro chin asks me, but I don't know how to answer. I simply shake my head at him.  
"What's wrong with the pocky game? It's fun!" I lean forward with the pocky still in my mouth, trying to stick it into his. He brings his hand up to my chest and pushes me back, I stumble on my feet for a second before steadying myself.  
"Kuro chin?" I tilt my head in a questioning pose. Why is he pushing me away? Doesn't he want any pocky?  
"Murasakibara kun, playing the pocky game is pretty much the same as k-kissing. We shouldn't do that, especially not here; in the middle of practice." He stutters as he talks, embarrassed to even say the word kissing. It's so cute I can barely stand it. "And anyway, everyone is here; they'll see. I like Murasakibara kun, but not in that way." His voice is so much nicer than Kise chin's, I could listen to it all day, but it still leaves me with questions.  
"What do you mean by; in that way? If you like someone, isn't that all there is to it?" He looks at me as if I'm a child he has to educate. It makes me feel a little insulted, but I know he's not doing it on purpose.  
"It's not that simple Murasakibara kun, but anyway, we really should start practicing." Kuro chin says, dodging my question. I sigh out in disappointment, but pick up a ball and start the passing drills. Usually practice is so boring, but it's not too bad with Kuro chin. His passes are fun to catch, they always leave my hands all nice and tingly. We pass for a while more, but it doesn't take my mind off what we were talking about before.   
"Ne, Kuro chin." I get his attention, he replies without slowing his passes.  
"Yes, Murasakibara kun?"  
"Can we talk while we pass? You still haven't explained what you meant." I plead with him, my curiosity taking control.  
"As long as you keep practicing, I guess I can explain it to you. I find it hard to believe that you've lived your life until now without understanding this kind of stuff though." He finally accepts, and it makes me happy.   
"Thanks Kuro chin! I will pay attention to you, my sensei!" Kuro chin laughs at my response, just a little bit, before starting his explanation.  
"Well, when you like someone, then that person is your friend. But there's a different kind of like too. How can I explain this to someone like you?" " He pauses for a second, looking a little flustered and trying to find the right words.   
"Ok, imagine this. You walk into a room and see someone, and the minute you see them you know you want to talk to them. And then every time you see them your chest starts to hurt, and you can hear your heart beating in your ears. You don't just like that person. That's the person you love. And you don't just go around kissing the people you like; you save that for the people you love. Do you get it?" I take a few moments to take in his words, barely paying attention to the ball but still managing to keep it in the air. Do I have someone like what he mentioned? Someone I was interested in from the first time I met them; that would have to be Kuro chin. When he suddenly came up from the third string I was so surprised, I wanted to talk to him and ask about it. And then… what was next? Your chest hurting? I guess that explains why it always feels so tight when I'm near Kuro chin. And the sound of my heart beating does tend to annoy me sometimes, when I'm trying to focus on a game but all I can hear is thump, thump, thump while I'm waiting for Kuro chin's pass. I think about everything Kuro chin said, and add it up in my head.  
"Then that means I love Kuro chin! So we can play the pocky game! Come here, Kuro chiiin." I happily burst out, my face all smiles. I love Kuro chin! I love Kuro chin! It feels so nice to finally understand my feelings. But while I'm celebrating, Kuro chin just looks like he's getting sicker and sicker, his face is turning even redder, his fever must be pretty high. I bring my hand forward to his forehead and feel the temperature. It doesn't feel too hot, but the moment I touch him Kuro chin springs back in surprise.  
"Murasakibara kun, please. This is a bit much to take in, can we at least talk about this after practice? Kise kun is going to show up to switch with you any minute anyway." Kuro chin pleads with me, he looks embarrassed. I don't really know why, but there must be some sort of valid reason. I nod at him. I'm sad that he won't play the game with me, I really wanted to know how sweet he was. But I don't want to make him uncomfortable. As he mentions talking after practice I finally remember what I initially intended to ask him and Mido chin.  
"Ok Kuro chin, I'll give you some time, I almost forgot while we were having so much fun, but I was going to invite you and Mido chin to buy popsicles with me this afternoon! You both look so red, like you have a fever, so I thought it'd help you get better." Kuro chin is still flustered, but he seems happy with my invitation. He smiles up at me.  
"That sounds great Murasakibara kun, but Aomine kun, Midorima kun and I are already going out to buy things this afternoon. If you want you can come along and we can get popsicles on the way home." I think about his idea. Mine chin isn't too bad to hang out with outside the court, and I was going to invite Mido chin in the first place; even if going out with Kuro chin alone does sound fun.  
"Ok Kuro chin, let's do that!" I beam back with enthusiasm, already excited.   
"Yes, it should be fun." I can tell that even though he is partly excited, Kuro chin is still sort of rattled by what I said before. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but maybe Kuro chin is more embarrassed by things like love than I am. I look behind me to see Kise running over and yelling already, eager for his turn to practice with Kuro chin. I wave my goodbye to Kuro chin and go back to shooting practice, even though I'm all alone now. On my way over I call out to him, promising to see him this afternoon. I can't wait. He wouldn't let me play when we were practicing, but maybe he will when we eat our popsicles.


	4. Chapter 4

Kise's POV:  
"Kurokochiiiii!" I yell out while running to Kurokochi, waving at him as I do. Murasakibarachi walks past me as we swap places, and I give him a smile.  
"Kurokochi! Aren't you happy we get to practice together?" I latch onto him the second I am close enough, hugging him tight and rubbing my face against his. He tries to push me away, but I'm stronger than he is with his tiny little body. I don't let go.  
"Kise kun, I've asked you to greet me normally so many times." He struggles out, pushing away from my face far enough so that he can talk.  
"But that's just no fun! I want to hug Kurokochi whenever I see him!" I tell him truthfully, he's always so cute; whether he's playing basketball, or concentrating on a book, or eating at lunch time, or when he's sleeping during class and his face is so defenceless... God! He really is cute all the time! I lose myself in my memories of Kurokochi, unconsciously hugging him even tighter and closer to me as I do.   
"K-Kise kun, please. I can't breathe." My cute little friend groans out, and this time, I regretfully let him go. I love holding onto him, but I don't want to hurt him.  
"Sorry Kurokochi, I got a little over excited."  
"It's ok Kise kun, let's just hurry up and practice." He says, forgiving me. That's one of the things I love about him, even if he bullies me or says mean things, he never really means it; and he always forgives me no matter what I do. I give him my best model smile, which he promptly ignores, and wait for him to pass me the ball. I bend my knees and bounce on the balls of my feet, preparing myself to catch his pass. When it comes, I have to veer slightly to the right to catch it; but it's still an easy grab. I do some fancy dribbling with the ball until Kurokochi gets annoyed at me and makes me pass properly again. We go on like this for about 5 minutes, and it just gets more and more boring. I wanna do something fun! Just passing normally gets boring so quickly, even if it is Kurokochi's magical passes.   
"Can I try catching an ignite pass today? If Aominechi can do it then surely I can too!" I ask him, wanting to prove how strong and cool I am to him. Everyone in the generation of miracles always looks down on me, saying that I'm the worst out of them. It hurts the most when Kurokochi agrees with them. So I want to show him that I'm just as good as the others; that I can catch the same pass that Aominechi can.   
"If you want to then I'll give you one, but I think you'll just end up getting hit in the face." He informs me bluntly, clearly doubting me.  
"Why does Kurokochi have to underestimate me so much? I'll bet you I can do it easy!" I've seen him throw that pass to Aominechi again and again, I know how he makes it go so fast. Since I always pick up everything I see so quickly, I'm certain I'll be able to catch it after watching it so many times! Then Kurokochi will see how cool I am, then maybe when I tell him that I love him, he'll say it back this time! Instead of just ignoring me like he always does. I get the feeling that whenever I tell him that I love him, he never takes me seriously. He just thinks I'm joking around like normal. But I do have a serious side to me sometimes! What I feel for Kurokochi isn't just friendship, and it's not just a joke! I really do love him, I need to make him realise that! He is still considering whether or not to accept my bet, so I make the deal even better.  
"How about this Kurokochi, whoever wins can make the other do whatever they want! Doesn't that sound fun?"   
"Fine, I'll do it. But don't blame me when you have to take a break from your modelling to wait for your face to heal." Yes! He said he'd do it. Now, what should I ask him to do when I win? Hmm, I could ask him to kiss me. I bet his lips feel better than any of the girls who try to kiss me. But that might make him uncomfortable, I saw his face getting all red before when Murasakibarachi was trying to play the pocky game with him. So any psychical contact is out, I can't be that mean to him. I rack my brain for what other command I can give him to make the most of this chance. I know!  
"I've got it! If you win, I'll do whatever you want! But if I win, you have to tell me that you love me! And you've already said yes so I'm not going to let you back out of it!" The smile painting my face widens. I know I'm gonna win this, it'll be a walk in the park! And then I'll get to hear Kurokochi tell me how much he loves me in his adorable voice. I can barely hold in my excitement! I start to jump up and down on the spot, waiting for the pass.  
"Come on Kurokochi, let's go!" I yell out, completely enveloped by enthusiasm. Kurokochi still looks hesitant, but he made a bet! He has to do it now!  
"Ok then Kise kun, I'll give you what you want…" He lightly tosses the ball over to me, and I catch it immediately.  
"Here I go!" I thrust my hands forward as I announce my throw, the ball goes flying straight at Kurokochi. I blink for only a second, but when I open my eyes Kurokochi is already in a completely different position, his arm bursting up to the ball and smashing into it. It comes flying at me so fast. I bring my arms forward to meet it but all they touch is rushing air. I don't even notice the impact for a second, it's too fast. I watch the ball drop to the floor and roll away, before the pain strikes me.  
"Owwww! My face! My face!" The floor rushes up behind me, I smack into it with a loud thud, landing right on the back of my head and increasing the pain already coursing through me.  
"Kurokochi! Help meee! It really hurts!" Tears form in my eyes and I let them flow freely, crying helps the pain go away a little but my head is still pounding. I look up to see Kurokochi looking down at me with judgemental eyes.  
"Kise kun, I told you that would happen... Are you okay?" He asks me, more in annoyance than concern. I start to cry even more, hurt by Kurokochi's indifference towards me.   
"Kurokochiiii! I'm injured, at least care about me a little!" I beg him, surely sounding totally pathetic to him; but not caring about it. He lets out a sigh, before bending down and sitting on his knees, wrapping his hands around the back of my head to pull me into a seated position.   
"At least sit up, it'll only hurt your head more if you lie on it." His voice is so soothing, I wish I could fall asleep with that voice singing to me. He strokes his hand through my hair, trying to calm me down and stop my squealing. I rub my head further into it, desperately wanting that warmth.  
"Thanks Kurokochi~" I hum out in bliss, slowly but surely; the pain ebbs away, and all that's left is the warm, methodical strokes of Kurokochi's hand.   
"Can you stand up yet?" I want to tell him that I can't, that it still hurts. That way he'll stay here with me for even longer. But that would be too mean to him. Plus, when I look at the clock I see that it won't be long until Akashichi comes back to practice his passing. I would be terrified to see him walk through this door while Kurokochi's is still stroking my hair and comforting me. He has made it quite clear to everyone in the team; excluding Kurokochi of course, his feelings for the shadow. I wouldn't dare flaunt any progress I make with Kurokochi in front of him; I do not have a death wish.  
"I'm feeling better now Kurokochi, I can stand." I crawl away from him and stand up by myself, lending him my hand to help him up. He takes it and I almost squeal, but manage to silence the noise. I'm holding hands with Kurokochi! That is so something that you do with your boyfriend! But almost as soon as he has latched onto my hand, he lets it go; separating me from him once again. Oh well, at least I got to hold it at all.  
"Maybe you should go and lie down in the nurses office instead of continuing practice. Your face is still red where you got hit." I want to protest; I can't give up this opportunity to be alone with Kurokochi. But as soon as I run to pick up the ball which has rolled away, everything around me starts to spin. I almost fall to the floor again; but Kurokochi is there to hold me up.  
"See? You really can't practice anymore for today." The boy below me lectures up at me, propping me back up on my feet. I sigh in submission.  
"Fine, I'll go and lie down, but will you take me there?" I see an opportunity to spend at least a little more time with Kurokochi and I take it. He sounds kind of annoyed, but he agrees anyway. He probably doubts that I can even make it there myself. I try to skip as I walk, using it as an outlet to let out all my excess happiness. But all I can manage is a lop sided walk and a scolding from Kurokochi. When we get there; Kurokochi talks to the nurse for me and gets me tucked into a bed. When my head hits the pillow I realise how tired I am, but I can't fall asleep just yet.  
"Ne, Kurokochi. Before you go, what are you going to make me do?" I ask him, curious as to what he will order me to do. I wish he would say something like; 'I command you to kiss me!' or; 'You have to go on a date with me!' But I know I won't be that lucky. He gives it a little bit of thought, clearly not already having an idea.  
"Well, I would feel bad forcing Kise kun to do anything he wouldn't want to. So how about I just invite you to hang out with me this afternoon? If you're better by then that is." My heart skips a beat and then I swear it runs an entire marathon and climbs a mountain. Kurokochi wants to go out with me this afternoon? That sounds exactly like a date! It has to be! I have no clue why I have been allowed to have such amazing luck but I am not questioning it.  
"Kurokochi that would make me so happy!" I yell out; forgetting momentarily about any pain or fatigue and only thinking of my Kurokochi. "Kurokochi and me on a date~ Going to have so much fun!" I sing happily, completely content.  
"A date? No, it's not like that. A few of us are all hanging out together, Aomine kun, Midorima kun, Murasakibara kun and I. Sorry for giving you the wrong idea." And just like that; my happiness shatters. Of course… Of course he doesn’t want to go on a date with me. Why would he? I'm just his stupid friend in the same basketball club; the one he can always count on to stuff up and make him laugh. The person he can bully and tease without any threat of retribution.  
"Oh… ok then." I choke out, unable to say anything else. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes again, I don’t even know how many times that's been today. I manage to stop them though, not wanting to make any more of a fool of myself. I was such an idiot to think that Kurokochi would really invite me on a date. If he ever took me seriously, maybe he'd finally understand the depth of my feelings for him. That way, he could at least turn me down properly instead of constantly treating me like just a friend. I could move on if he did that, it would be hard; and I know it would hurt. But I could try. No! I scold myself. I shouldn't think so negatively. I am not a negative person. I am Kise Ryouta and I am always smiling and happy! My voice continues to ring in my head; 'Stop feeling so sorry for yourself! You still have a chance, don’t count yourself out yet.' I'm right aren’t I? This afternoon, I do have a chance. At some point, surely I’ll be able to get him alone; if only for a minute. Then I can tell him. I wipe up any stray tears that I couldn't stop, and look up at Kurokochi; putting on my very best fake smile.  
"I'll be there this afternoon Kurokochi. I’ll make sure I feel better by then; it'll be so fun to hang out with everyone!" Lies always sound more believable when you mix in a bit of truth. I'll be happy to take any chance to spend time with Kurokochi, I'll make sure I'm well enough to go this afternoon. I just wish we could be alone.  
"That's good to hear. I'll send you a text after practice and tell you where to meet. See you then." He says as he stands and walks out the door, making his way back to the gym; leaving me all alone again. But I won't be alone for long; I'll sleep until I hear my phone go off; when my message from Kurokochi arrives. I'll definitely be better by then; I have to go with him this afternoon; I don't really get where this sudden sense of urgency is coming from; but I know that if I'm going to confess to Kurokochi, it's going to be today.


	5. Chapter 5

Akashi's POV:  
I walk into the gym, expecting to see my team all practicing diligently. All I am greeted by is Atsushi munching on pocky inside the 2 point zone. I don’t know what everyone has been doing while I've been gone; but they'll pay for it.  
"Yo, Aka chin~" The purple giant bellows across in the room in a totally relaxed voice. It infuriates me.  
"Atsushi, would you like to tell me why you are not practicing, and why you are the only one here?" I shake with anger. I sat through all the crap the teachers waffled on about, pretending that I cared, even though everything they said were obvious things which I have already taken into account. I sat through it and managed to maintain my composure because I knew that when I was come I could come back here and practice with my Tetsuya. I am not happy that he is not here.  
"Well, Mine chin and Mido chin both got annoyed over something while they were practicing with Kuro chin and stormed out. Then after I had my turn passing, Kuro chin hit Kise chin in the face with his ignite pass and had to take him to the nurses office. I was bored practicing all by myself so I just started eating snacks. Aka chin isn't mad at me, is he?" I listen to everything my teammate has to say, and determine the common denominator between everyone. Tetsuya.  
"It seems that everyone's reason for deserting practice comes back to Tetsuya. That's no good." Atsushi cringes in fear as I talk, clearly afraid that I will get mad at him over not practicing. If he's expecting it, I'd better give it to him.  
"I'm happy that you at least stayed in the gym, but I'm ever so disappointed that you thought it'd be ok to slack off in practice simply because I wasn't here to tell you not to." I walk closer to him, reaching up and placing my hand on his shoulder and using it to force him onto the bench below him. Now I am above him, I can look down on him; as is my right.  
"I may forgive you, if you go and get Tetsuya for me, and start to practice as soon as you get back." I give him my most menacing smile. "But I'll warn you; I won't be as lenient next time. Understand?" I can almost hear the beating in his heart speeding up as he body pulsates in fear. God I love the feeling of causing this.  
"Hai, Aka chin!" He screams out as he runs from my presence; going straight out the door to the gym to look for Tetsuya. I wonder what I will do to my shadow when he comes back? He caused so much chaos, bringing practice to a complete halt. I can imagine why; this damn team. I keep telling them that Tetsuya is mine, that no matter what they do they will not win his affections, that I will not let them. And yet they keep on trying behind my back, trying to get ahead with him. It serves them right for messing with Tetsuya, he's probably rejected them without even realising it. I'm assuming that's why Daiki and Shintarou stormed off. And as for Ryouta; I'm sure he was doing something he shouldn't have.   
"Aka chin, I brought Kuro chin. He was just on his way here." Atsushi's voice brings my eyes to the door, seeing my beautiful shadow walk in.  
"Tetsuya, how lovely for you to actually show up." I smile at him, half in intimidation; but half in actual joy from seeing him. "Come here." He follows my command instantly, knowing what will happen if he doesn’t.  
"Atsushi, you can go and use the other gym. I want to be alone with Tetsuya."   
"Fiiine, I'll see you, Mido chin and Mine chin this afternoon!" The team is meeting with Tetsuya this afternoon? That sounds interesting…  
"Ah, Murasakibara kun. Kise kun is coming as well now, I hope you don't mind me inviting him." Tetsuya calls out as the giant leaves the room. Atsushi simply raises his hand in a wave and calls out to Tetsuya, telling him that it's fine. I turn to Tetsuya with questions on my lips.  
"So, you are going out with the team this afternoon? I couldn't help but notice that everyone has been invited except for me. Surely you had just forgotten to invite me, right?" I expect my Tetsuya to look at me with fear, but instead all I get is a blank stare. Hopefully that means he was prepared to invite me, and not simply about to lie to my face.  
"I hadn't forgotten you, Akashi kun. Aomine kun invited me out while we were practicing together, and in the end everyone ended up wanting to come. I was going to invite you when you got back." I am hesitant to believe him; but he is the one I love. I want to trust him. He didn't make any attempt to keep the outing a secret from me when Atsushi mentioned it, so I'll believe that he really did intend on inviting me.  
"That's good to hear Tetsuya, I wouldn't have been pleased if only I had been left out."  
"I would never do that to you, Akashi kun." My tiny little friend reassures me, bringing a rare genuine smile to my face.   
"Well, now that that's sorted out; we really should do some actual practice." I casually bring the topic up, but Tetsuya takes it as more of a command. I don't really mind though. It shows that I have trained him well. I toss him a ball and we do some drills. I can tell from the drips of sweat running down his face how tired he is, clearly exhausted by having to train for so long with every member of the generation of miracles. I continue our practice for a couple more minutes, but over that time his exhaustion only becomes more evident. He starts to miss passes, struggling to run after it and bring it back after it flies from his grasp.  
"Sorry, Akashi kun." He mutters in apology as he runs after the ball again. I wanted to punish him for being the cause of derailing practice today. But I can't bear to see him hurting like this. I'll get him back some other way.  
"Tetsuya, stop." He looks up at me, confused at the sudden command.  
"You don't have to push yourself so hard. I can tell you're tired. Let's just sit down for a little bit." I beckon to him, calling him over. After a moments hesitation he walks to put the ball away and joins me on the bench. He sits so far away, I won't accept it. I inch closer to him, sliding across the seat until our shoulders touch. I love the feeling of my Tetsuya, he is so perfect.  
"A-akashi kun?" He coughs out, questioning my sudden actions. I simply assure him that there's nothing wrong, and rest my head on his shoulder. I can't see his face, but I'm sure that he's blushing.  
"You shouldn't get so flustered over something so small, Tetsuya. You're comfortable sitting with me, your captain and dear friend; aren’t you?"   
"Of course, Akashi kun." He starts to relax, just a little bit. The muscles in his shoulder becoming less tense.  
"Anyway, what do you want to talk about?" Oh, I have plenty to talk about; I think to myself.  
"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me about practice today while I was gone. After listening to Atsushi, it seems that you are the reason everyone stopped practicing."  
"Me? I know I hit Kise kun with the ignite pass, but I didn’t think I did anything to the anyone else." Oh, my naïve little Tetsuya. He clearly has no idea of the emotional turmoil his teammates are going through because of him. He's such an oblivious boy. I sometimes feel sorry for the rest of my team. Neither Daiki or Shintarou are ever brave enough to tell Tetsuya their feelings, and even if Atsushi or Ryouta tells him; he never takes them seriously. But I mustn't have so much sympathy for them, they are my enemies when it comes to Tetsuya after all.  
"Oh Tetsuya, you really are naïve. I don't want to break your little illusion, so I won't explain it to you. But know this; it may not have been your fault, but you are the reason Daiki and Shintarou stormed out. Then when you hit Ryouta, Atsushi had no one to practice with, and therefore stopped practicing entirely. So as you can see, you are the one who interrupted practice." I raise my head from his shoulder and look his straight in the eye. "You must be punished for that, it's only right." Fear strikes it's way into Tetsuya, entering through his ears along with my words and racing straight to his heart. I don’t want to have to punish him, he is usually so well behaved; and I so hate to see my loved one in pain. But I still have to teach him a lesson, to make sure he never repeats his mistake again.  
"Don't worry; I won't make it hurt." I slip out before I lock my lips with his. His face goes stiff in shock, not responding to my lips at all; leaving me to do whatever I want. I bring my hand up to his impossibly soft blue hair and cling to it, using the leverage to bring his face even closer to mine. My lips dance around his, tasting every part of them. When the initial shock wears off, he tries to fight against me. Oh no. That's just no good. I put more force into the kiss. Dominating him completely. His attempts to stop me do nothing, and after a minute or two he simply gives up and lets himself enjoy the kiss. I lick along his bottom lip, and give it a little love bite before sending my tongue into my shadows mouth. He tastes so good, even better than I imagined. I feel all the surfaces inside his mouth; running my tongue everywhere. Slight whimpers break free from Testuya's mouth. Now that he's stopped trying to fight me, I can tell he's actually enjoying the kiss. But the moans running from his mouth sound like a mix of both pleasure and pain. I regretfully detach my lips from his and let him breath. He bends down and takes shallow breaths, seeking out oxygen like a desperate man. I guess I might have been a little too forceful, next time I'll make sure to let him breath. I wipe the saliva that has ended up on my chin off, bringing my hand to my mouth and licking it up. It tastes like Tetsuya, I like it. I wait patiently, not trying to rush him. When he has finally caught his breath; at least enough to speak, he chokes out at me.  
"W-what was that, Akas… Akashi kun?" He can only manage a few words. I have exhausted him too much for anything more. This pleases me immensely.  
"Whatever is the matter; Tetsuya?" I tease him in a sing song voice, looking down at him a grin waiting for his answer.  
"You… You know what I'm talking about!" He squeals out, pausing for breath halfway. "That k-kiss. Why did you do that to me?" I love the way he stutters through the word kiss. He's so pure and innocent, I'm going to have fun tainting him.  
"I love you Testuya, have you not realised this yet?" I inform him simply. I always thought the whole idea of confessing your love in some big way was unnecessary. People make such a big deal out of it, but I see no need for all the theatrics. As long as Tetsuya knows that I love him, that is all that is needed. The object of my affections simply sits shell shocked next to me, at a complete loss for words. I really did think it was obvious, everyone else in the team knows how I feel for him. But then again, Tetsuya can't even see through Shintarou's hopelessly obvious tsundere act, so I'm not even surprised that he didn't realise my affections.  
"You l-l-l-ove." There goes the stuttering again, he can't even finish the sentence.   
"Yes, that's right. You are the one I love. Tetsuya Kuroko. Number 15 on the Teiko basketball team. The rumoured phantom sixth man. That is you, is it not?" I continue on, stating the obvious. Tetsuya simply nods at me, still trying to form words.  
"I, I don't know what I'm meant to say to this." He admits, embarrassed to state his cluelessness. I decide to do the right thing and comfort him.  
"It's ok Tetsuya, you don't have to say anything right now. This afternoon. I'll be waiting for you at the school gate, you can tell the rest of the team to meet there. After you have finished your business with everyone else; I'll ask you for an answer then."  
"Thank you Akashi kun, and; I'm sorry. So much crazy stuff has happened today, I really don't know how to deal with it all." I understand his struggle, it must have been a hard time for him, having to deal with the affections from the rest of the team; the loves that I will never let come to fruition.   
"There's no need to thank me Tetsuya, I'm just doing what is right. I'll end training here, you can go have a shower and cool off. But before you go; I'll say one thing." Tetsuya looks up at me questioningly, wondering what it is I have to say.  
"Yes, Akashi kun?"  
"You're mine. Don't you dare forget that." I leave him with those words, standing up and walking out of the gym. He needs time to relax and think, and I am giving it to him. How generous of me. I make my way home to prepare for tonight, not bothering to walk to the second gym to tell Atsushi that he can stop practicing. He can practice until his legs fall off for all I care; he tried to get close to my Tetsuya, it's what he deserves. I recall the kiss the two of us shared, and lick my lips. Still feeling the faint taste of Tetsuya on them. Tonight, I swear to myself. I will make him completely mine tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

Kuroko's POV:  
My heart is still racing, it’s been 15 minutes, I've had a shower and gotten changed and yet I can still hear the thumping constantly in my ears. What is wrong with me? No, better question: What is wrong with Akashi kun? I still don’t understand fully. Everything he did was all too sudden. One minute we're practicing, and the next he's suddenly kissing me and telling me he loves me. Is that even true? Why would someone as talented and perfect as Akashi kun ever love someone like me; totally average and unremarkable. And anyway; we're both guys. Does that mean Akashi kun is gay? I wouldn't even think of making fun of him, or being mean to him because of it, but it does surprise me. Geez, I need to calm down. But how? I had a shower and that didn't help, and no matter how much I think about this I just can’t manage to sort anything out. When I think about it, Akashi kun wasn't even the only one acting weird today. Both Aomine kun and Midorima kun seemed really mad about something, even more so than usual. Neither of them even bothered to finish practice. Something serious must be on their minds. I guess Kise kun was as normal as someone like him can be, speaking of him; I hope his face has healed at least a little, I feel bad for hurting him, but he was the one who told me to in the first place. Murasakibara kun was pretty much his usual self as well, but it was definitely odd when he suddenly proclaimed that he loved me too. I'm afraid to, but I'm actually taking Akashi kun's proclamation seriously. But for Murasakibara kun; he clearly doesn’t even understand things like love, so I feel like I can dismiss his 'confession' pretty easily. And I'm pretty sure I can do the same for Kise kun, it's not like this is even the first time he's tried to convince me how in love with me he is. It's obviously just him being the obsessive, over the top friend he always is. I look at the time on my phone; 5:00. I’d better start walking to meet everyone. I sent them all texts telling them to meet at the school gates like Akashi kun told me to. Hopefully they actually see them. I walk absentmindedly, and when I arrive first, I simply sit down and go back to my thoughts.

Aomine's POV:  
My text tone rings out against the silence surrounding me. I finally raise my head from my tear splattered hands and pull my phone out of my pocket. It's from Tetsu. A smile instantly makes its way to my face. Tetsu texted me! Yes! I open up the message and read it: 'Meet me at the school gates at 5 please.' I am up and running before I have even closed the message. The clock on my phone reads 4:59, I won't be able to get there in a minute but I'll run there as quick as I can. I had totally forgotten that I had asked him to hang out this afternoon. I guess you forget things when you're too busy moaning about how your crush doesn't like you back. But never mind that, I can change it. I didn’t even manage to confess to him before, I still haven’t been rejected really. I still have hope. We're going to be alone together this afternoon, I'll have a chance to change his mind for sure.

Midorima's POV:  
I'm not going to meet him there because he asked, I'm only going because it's convenient for me. I nod my head, convincing myself as I walk to meet Kuroko, and regrettably; Aomine. Why does he even have to come? I mean, he was the one who invited Kuroko out in the first place, and I'm pretty sure I'd have never been able to ask him out myself. But still, I can't help but be annoyed; both at the fact that he'll be hanging around when I could be alone with Kuroko this afternoon, and because he was able to do what I couldn’t. Instead of lingering on bad thoughts though, I decide to work out a plan for this afternoon. I keep saying that I'll have Kuroko to myself after Aomine leaves, but it won't do me any good if I haven't got anything planned for that time. Now that I think of it, I told him I needed to buy lucky items but I haven't even looked at tomorrow's horoscope yet. It looks like I have some work to do. I take out my phone, both to look up tomorrows lucky item and to check the time. It's already 4:58, if I check the Oha Asa now it'll make me a few minutes. Surely they'll wait for me, right? Wait, what am I so worried about? I can bet that Aomine will be late anyway, ok; I'll quickly check the Oha asa, then I'll go. 

Murasakibara's POV:  
I'm so tired, has basketball practice always been this long? I swear it's been at least an hour since Aka chin sent me away to practice in the second gym. Every time I shoot it's the same. The hoop is so close that I don't even have to jump for it, and I'm practicing alone anyway. No one is here to stop me, so I make every shot. Is there even a point to this? I pause for a second, holding the ball in my hands and just thinking. Geez, when is Aka chin going to let me stop? I keep watching the door as I practice but no matter how much I stare he doesn't walk in. I want to hurry up and meet up with Kuro chin and everyone, but if I stop practicing he might yell at me again. Ugh, I really hate how strict he is sometimes. A chime from my pocket draws my attention. A text? Is it Aka chin telling me I finally stop? I get it out and look at it, it's not Aka chin, but Kuro chin. Even better! Hmm, 'Meet me at the school gates at 5 please.' If Kuro chin sent me this, then it means I can stop practicing, right? It's almost 5:00 anyway, yes! I don’t bother to pack up properly, I just throw the ball into the corner and start skipping to the front of the school. Going to hang out with Kuro chin~ 

Kise's POV:  
My phone's text alert acts as an alarm clock for me, waking me up from an all too pleasant dream. I struggle to remember what I was dreaming about; Kurokochi and me all alone together, going out on a date, having dinner together, and then finally having a kiss good night, before he decided to invite me to hang out at his place anyway. Yeah, that was a good dream for sure! I start to get annoyed at whoever texted me and woke me up from such a heaven! There must have been a good reason for it! I sit up to look at my phone, my head still aches a little bit from the motion, but it's not nearly as bad as before. Ah, the message is from Kurokochi! All my annoyance evaporates in a second, no matter what I was doing, Kurokochi texting me will always make me happy! I read the message out aloud, "Meet me at the school gates at 5 please." 5? I look at the clock next to my bed in the infirmary.  
"What?! It’s already 5! I'm going to be late! What if Kurokochi leaves me behind?" I squeal in distress, this can't be happening! I ignore the pain in my head and run straight out the door. Let me think, including me and Kurokochi, there's also Aominechi, Midorimachi and Murasakibarachi coming. One of them has to be late as well, right? They won't leave without me. 

Akashi's POV:  
"You can leave now, thank you for helping me prepare." The maid nods at me, accepting my order and making a swift exit. I turn to get a proper look at myself in the mirror, the suit hangs well, it's easy to tell that it's been made to fit only me.  
"Young master, the dinner reservations have been made. A table for 2 at 6:30."   
"Thank you, that'll be enough for tonight." I dismiss the butler, satisfied with his performance for now.  
"As you say, young master." As he walks out of the room I run over my check list one more time. We'll be meeting at five, and I'm sure the rest of my team has something planned for their time with Tetsuya. I need to make sure to warn them before the night gets started, and after that all I have to do is sit by while they do whatever it is they've planned, and by 6:20 I'll have lead Tetsuya and only Tetsuya to the five star restaurant right near my house. My plan is perfect, I'm sure of it. By the end of the night Tetsuya will be mine, the only obstacle in the way of that is the rest of my teammates, but they won't be able to stop me. After all, I am absolute.

Kuroko's POV:  
How long is everyone going to take? I expected Aomine kun and Murasakibara kun to be late, but it's odd to see everyone else yet to arrive. It's given me some time to think at least, but I'm starting to get bored waiting. Just as I think this, I hear sounds from every direction around me. Laboured breaths all coming at me at the same time. I stand up and look around me to see all my friends running full speed at me. They all yell out apologies for being late together, as if they had practiced the timing before. And then, when they finally stop running and look around, they notice each other.  
"What the hell are the rest of you doing here?!" Aomine kun yells out to everyone, clearly confused. That's right, he didn't know anyone other than him and I were coming. I guess I should've told him that in my text. Oops.  
"That should be my line! I knew Aomine would be coming too but what are the rest of you doing?" And there goes Midorima kun. I start to feel kind of silly, having forgotten to tell everyone who was coming.  
"I knew everyone was coming, but I didn't know about Aka chin. Is he coming too?"   
"Yeah, Kurokochi! You never told me Akashichi would be coming!" Both Murasakibara and Kise yell at me; I might be in trouble here. I step forward and take a deep breath, ready to apologise for my poor organising and explain how everyone had been invited, but before I can talk Akashi kun puts his hand over my mouth.  
"Let's not bother Tetsuya so much, this was his outing, he was free to invite anyone he wanted. Even if the only one he should have invited was me. Regardless though, instead of all yelling at him and getting him all flustered, just be glad you were invited at all. Ok?" Akashi kun's voice always commands respect, now being no exception. Everyone still seems annoyed, but they swallow their pride and calm down, afraid of what Akashi will do to them if they don’t.   
"It's not like I wanted to be alone with Kuroko anyway, let's just hurry up and get going." Midorima kun is the first to speak up after Akashi kun's lecture. For whatever reason he more yells than speaks with an uneven voice at that; but at least he's suggesting that we get going. To be honest, I really just want to be out of this situation as quickly as possible, I feel like Akashi kun is staring right at me, and I right now, after everything he did at practice; I feel nervous just being around him. I'm really glad the rest of the team is with me, and that it's not just the two of us.  
"Good idea Shintarou, well shall we leave?"   
"Yeah, whatever."   
"Hai, Aka chin."  
"Yes, let's go everyone!" Both Muraskibara kun and Kise kun seem to have cheered up almost instantly, and each hold one of my arms as we start to walk. Aomine kun and Midorima kun just sulk and walk behind the rest of the group. Not long after we have started walking I hear two muted squeals from behind me, and the two arms which were resting there are removed, and in an instant Akashi kun is holding my right hand, where Kise kun was standing until a second ago. Usually I wouldn't pay something like that too much attention, but now I know how he feels about me. And I still have the memory of our… kiss. I can't help being uncomfortable. I look around myself, at all the various faces looking at me, all with different expressions and can't help but have one single thought: This is going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

Kuroko's POV:  
"So… where does everyone want to go first?" I ask the five men around me, only regretting it after the words have left my mouth. Noise erupts from all around.  
"I was the one who invited Tetsu out in the first place! And I asked him to come shopping for basketball shoes so that's where we're going!"  
"Being first does not allow you the right to choose. You will all be in danger if we do not have our lucky items for tomorrow, we should buy them now."  
"We don’t care about your stupid lucky items Midorimachi! I don't mind where we go though, as long as I get to sit with Kurokochi!"  
"Why is everyone so noisy? We should just hurry up and go to the convenience store! We can all get popsicles and I can get more sweets! I've run out and I'm hungry."  
"If the rest of you would stop arguing, I'd like to get through all your crap already so that I can take Tetsuya to the dinner reservations I made." I can barely keep track of who is saying what. At times like this, when the whole team is arguing around me; I wish I could disappear for real.  
"What? Akashichi made dinner reservations with Kurokochi? That's not fair!" Kise yells out in shock, and admittedly; I'm surprised too. I didn’t know that Akashi kun was planning on taking me out to dinner at all. I'm kind of scared of it; being alone with him.  
"I hate to agree with the idiot but he's going a point. No way am I letting you spend time alone with Tetsu!" Aomine yells, following suite from Kise. While I don't appreciated all the arguing going on around me, I'm kind of glad that Aomine kun is trying to stop Akashi kun from being alone with me. Usually I would spend time with him with just the two of us without a thought, it would just be a normal thing, but right now I can barely even look him in the eye. I'm too confused to do anything more, so I really am happy that Aomine kun is trying to protect me.  
"We'll see about that, Daiki." There he goes again, with his ominous tone; whenever Akashi kun talks like that, you know there's some other meaning behind his words.  
"What was that Akashi?!"  
"Just calm down Aominechi! Akashichi is just playing around, right?"  
"If that's what you want to believe, Ryouta. Anyway, we should be going now. Daiki invited Tetsuya out first, so we shall go to the shoe shop. Then, we can just follow the order you all got invited; does that please you all?" Everyone takes a moment to think about Akashi-kun's suggestion, and eventually all agree to it. Akashi-kun and Midorima-kun walk in front of the group, discussing something I can't hear. Next to me are Aomine-kun and Kise-kun, and Murasakibara-kun trails behind, reaching over my shoulder offering me sweets every now and then. As we walk, the tense atmosphere seems to lighten, and the people around me talk freely of trivial matters; who scored the most points in the last game, how Kise's modelling is going. I find myself slipping into our usual routine so easily. Laughing with Aomine, laughing at Kise, hearing Akashi and Midorima chat between each other, and sharing sweets with Murasakibara. These are my friends, and even if they argue, or make me feel uncomfortable sometimes, I really do like them.  
"It looks like we've arrived. Daiki, be quick."   
"Yeah, yeah. Come on Tetsu, everyone else I guess." We all walk inside the shop and have a look around. I don't need new shoes at the moment, but it's cool to see all the designs- blue ones, red ones, there's a colour for everyone actually. When I think about it, we really are a colourful bunch. I guess Aomine kun and I are the most similar in that regard, with both of us having blue hair. But when I think about it, we're a lot more similar than just that. I feel like the only person who can truly rival my love for basketball is Aomine kun, and I'd hope that the opposite is true as well. I really like everyone in the generation of miracles, but Aomine kun is the only one who I call my best friend, and he was the first one who reached out to me, just some loser in the third string. I still remember the first time I met him, when he decided he'd practice with me, even though at the time his basketball skills probably could have quadrupled mine, maybe even more. Ever since then we just seemed to click, and now I can't imagine us not being friends. Maybe I'm getting a little too sentimental over this, it probably is weird to get so nostalgic in the middle of a sports shoe shop. But who cares, as long as I'm waiting for Aomine I might as well be doing something.

Aomine's POV:  
I walk away from the group to the spot where I know what I'm looking for will be. After all, I just bought a new pair of these last week. When I notice that Tetsu has gone off by himself, while everyone else waits near the front of the store, I hesitate for a second, wondering if I should go over. After everything that happened this afternoon, I feel like it'd be so awkward to walk over and start talking to him like normal. Just before was ok, we were all in a group, so he wasn't just focusing on me. I could be my usual totally overconfident self and not worry about him judging me for it. But now he's standing in the middle of the store all alone, looking so undeniably innocent. Ok, seriously; I may get nervous around Tetsu, but he's the person I like; that's what's meant to happen. It's not weird. And I'm a confident guy; why am I doubting myself? We're best friends, of course I can talk to him! Ok Aomine, you don’t need to do anything big, just talk to him normally. My heart starts to beat faster as I walk up to him but I ignore it as best I can.

Kuroko's POV:  
"What do you think of these Tetsu?" Aomine comes walking up to me with a smile on his face, holding a pair of basketball shoes with dark and light blue on them. How predictable.  
"They look nice, the colour suites you." I smile as I talk, looking up at my best friend. I think it makes him a bit embarrassed though; he looks away from me but I can see the redness spread through his face.  
"Thanks, I'll buy them then." He says in reply, meekly at first. But the more he talks the more his usual confidence returns.  
"Maybe I should buy you a pair too Tetsu! To thank you for coming with me." His smile is all over his face now, but I decline the offer. I won't ask him to buy me something I don't even need.  
"That's too bad. Oh well, I'll just have to be extra fun to be with this afternoon to pay you back!" With that, he goes to the counter to pay. 

Aomine's POV:  
I walk to the counter to pay for my shoes with a smile on my face, running through our conversation. It wasn't anything special; about half a year or so ago, before I realised how in love with Tetsu I am it wouldn't have even remembered what I'd said five minutes later. But now every word the both of us said is ingrained in my mind, I can imagine the tone he spoke in, bring up images of how his face moved as he talked. I start to think that I might be going just a little bit insane, or maybe a lot. We literally spoke about 6 sentences between us, but I'm still excited over it. Excited by the fact that I was able to get through those 6 sentences without stuttering, blushing or sounding like an idiot. I really shouldn't be proud of myself over this but I really am. I'm not up to the stage of confessing yet, but I can talk to him normally and be a good friend to him. For now, that's good enough; but I know that's not going to be the same for long. I have to confess some time, maybe not right now, but I know I'm going to get it done.

Kuroko's POV:  
While I'm waiting I see the rest of the team hanging around near the door. Akashi kun is talking to them. A sudden surge of nervousness hits me, as I remember our kiss this afternoon. But it'll be okay, he wouldn't do anything while everyone else is here. I take a deep breath and walk over.  
"Hey, Aomine kun is almost done here, so we can all leave soon. Where are we going next?" I ask the whole group but surprisingly, it's Midorima who answers me.  
"Like Akashi said before, we should be going in order, so we should buy my lucky items next." He takes a pause before continuing, looking embarrassed for whatever reason. "Just so you know, I'm only saying this so that we have at least some order. I don't really want to hang out with Kuroko all that much." Midorima kun is as rude as ever when he replies, some people call him a tsundere, but whenever he's around me at least he's just rude all the time. I know we're not the best of friends like Aomine kun and I, but I do want to try and change that. We're on the same team after all, and Midorima kun has his good points. But whenever he speaks it's always just: "Why would I like Kuroko?" or, "I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it because I'll get something out of it." But I guess that can't be helped, whether I like it or not; that's who Midorima kun is.

Midorima's POV:  
Damn it. Goddamn it! I did it again! Why couldn’t I have just stopped my stupid mouth after I suggested going to buy Lucky Items? Why did I have to keep going, saying that I didn't want to be around Kuroko. I keep asking myself these questions, but I already know the answers. I was embarrassed. I was afraid. Afraid that someone would figure out my feelings if I was nice to Kuroko. As if that would actually happen, being nice to someone doesn't mean you love them, it would just make you a decent person; which I apparently am not. So much for not being rude to him this afternoon, and I can definitely give up on confessing to him. Now that everyone is coming I won't even get a chance to be alone with him. Great job me, great job.

Kuroko's POV:  
"Ok then, Lucky Item shopping it is then." I try to keep a smile, in hopes that Midorima kun will give me one in return. He doesn’t.  
"Yo, if you guys are ready we can keep going." Aomine hollers to us as he joins the group, holding his bag of new shoes out like a prize.  
"Let's get going then. We need to hurry if we're going to be on time for my plans. Tetsuya, would you like to walk to wherever Shintarou needs to go with me?" The words come alongside a sense of fear. I turn to face Akashi kun, nervous in my movements.  
"...How about we all walk together?" I thought I would be able to talk to him normally when I walked up to the group before. But it's so much harder when he's talking directly to me, images of before won't stop themselves from piercing my thoughts. I hope that Akashi kun will accept my idea, I don't want to be, I wish I wasn't, but I am still afraid to walk alone with him.  
"Fine, if that's what Tetsuya wants. Let's go." Akashi kun sounds hostile as he speaks, but at least he's accepting my proposition. I breath a sigh of relief, and start to walk with everyone. The first shop we visit is a mask shop. I would speak up to question the absurdity, but by this point I don't even need to. I know all about Midorima kun's far from normal tendencies. He walks into the store alone, and when he comes back, he is holding a robot mask.  
"Kuroko, this is for you." He thrusts the mask towards me without even looking me in the eyes. As if the look of my face was too disgusting for him. I take it from him and observe its intricacies; a silver robot face with cute little eyes. I like it.  
"Thank you Midorima kun, it’s cute! I'll try and remember to wear it tomorrow." I say to him with genuine happiness. But what I get back isn't a 'your welcome', or 'it's okay'. Instead, he starts to scream at me.  
"No, that isn't good enough! You can't just 'try and remember'. Tomorrow Aquarius is in second last place, if you don't have your lucky item on you you're in danger! You could die tomorrow! I don't care about it, but you should be doing everything you can to stop that." I stand in shock in the aftermath of Midorima kun's outburst, I see him yelling all the time but I didn't expect him to do it now.   
"Mido chin why are you yelling at Kuro chin? You don't need to be so mean to him all the time!" Murasakibara kun questions him, an angry look on his face. One I've only seen a handful of times before. I'm not the best at reading people's emotions, but even I can tell how angry this makes Midorima kun. It's as if I can see the thoughts stop in his brain, as annoyance at Murasakibara kun takes him over.  
"Is it so bad for me to worry about Kuroko?! Why should I let you, the guy who doesn't even care about the sport he plays lecture me about anything? I'm the one who's looking out for Kuroko, making sure he's safe! You should be thanking me, not berating me! And anyway, could you just watch as someone you cared about so much, someone you loved was in danger?! Could you, Murasaki-" He stops suddenly, halfway through a word.

Midorima's POV:  
I stop myself halfway through yelling Murasakibara's name as I finally realise what I am doing. What I am screaming. Oh my god. What have I done. What did I just say. I called Kuroko someone I cared about, no, that's not right. I said; 'someone you cared about so much, someone you loved.' Oh god. I really said that. I stare down at the ground, but I can still feel everyone's eyes on me.   
"Midorimachi, are you okay? What was that?" I hear Kise's voice but I block it out.  
"I didn't quite hear you before Shintarou, would you mind repeating yourself? You were saying something about Tetsuya and 'love'?" I hear Akashi's voice as well, but I don't pay it any attention either. I don't know what to do with myself, I simply don't. I can't just play this off. I just confessed to Kuroko. I didn't even mean to, I wasn't going to.   
"Midorima kun, you love me?" There it is, the one voice I can't ignore. I look up in what I can only imagine is a pathetic display of mortification. Words fails me. I can't just act like my usual self and say something like; "I was just making fun of you, of course I would never like someone like you." No one would believe that. I take a pause and think about how I can explain my way out of this, somehow save myself from further embarrassment and obvious rejection from Kuroko. But as soon as I open my mouth to speak it's as if my brain deserts me, and is taken over by my heart. Goddamn heart.  
"S,S,So what if I do? Have you got a problem with that?!"

Kuroko's POV:  
"S,S,So what if I do? Have you got a problem with that?!"  
You'd think after everything with Akashi kun yesterday, as well as Kise and Murasakibara telling me the same thing; even if I didn't think they were being serious, I would be more prepared when someone told me they loved me. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. I am at a loss for words. Only silence fills the air around me. Midorima kun barely able of speaking, and everyone else including myself completely unable of the feat. Midorima kun said he loved me. He wasn't making fun of me, or being rude like normal, I'm sure. Why would he say that though? He always says how much he hates me, that Cancer and Aquarius don't get along. So, why?   
"W-what?" This is all I am capable of saying, with a dumbfounded look on my face. My reaction only makes Midorima kuns face grow redder, and his voice raise.  
"I said I love you! Ok! You've all heard me say it already and I know none of you will ever shut up about it so I might as well just say it and get it all over and done with finally. I love you Kuroko, but I know you'd just reject me anyway so there's really no point in me even saying this is there?" This side of Midorima is so foreign to me. One that is yelling his innermost feelings for anyone around to hear, speaking of love. I'm glad he's not being rude like he always is, but at least I know how to react to him when he is like that. Right now I have no clue how I'm supposed to do so.  
"I,I. I don't know what to say." I stutter, trying and failing to find the right words. Midorima kun turns away again, looking like he's ready to leave all of us and run home.  
"Don't even bother saying anything, we're not even good friends. I know that you'd never say yes to me. I'm just being an annoyance here, I'm going home. Sorry for yelling at you Murasakibara." He starts to walk away from the group with hunched shoulders, pushing away Kise's hand when he tries to give it in comfort. I can't just let him leave like this. I run after him.  
"Wait, Midorima kun!" I call out to an unresponsive back, disappearing from in front of me. When I call out his name he starts to run, seemingly intent on not letting me catch up. But I don't give up. I run my hardest behind him, and notice that everyone else follows me. When I finally catch up I wrench my arm up to his and grab hold, stopping him from running any further. When he turns around to face me, I see tears in his eyes.  
"Midorima kun, you're crying?" I ask him as he struggles against my grip.  
"Of course I'm not crying, you idiot. I just got something in my eye while I was running. Now let me go!" He yells at me but I know he's not telling the truth. And as long as he's not being truthful, I won't let go.  
"I'm not letting go Midorima kun. I can’t just let you run off home. Please, can we at least talk about this? My day today has been the furthest from normal you could possibly get, and I'm more confused than I've ever been in my life. But I want to sort everything out! I want to learn my own feelings!" For the first time today I actually say what I have been feeling out loud. I really don't know half of what has happened today. I want to sort things out with Midorima kun. I want to know why Akashi kun did what he did to me this afternoon. I want to know why Aomine kun was so upset before and I want to know if the words of confession I assumed were simple jokes from Kise and Murasakibara were actually the truth. And most of all, I need to know how I feel about all this. When I look up at Midorima, pleading for answers, it looks like he's about to speak, but before he can Aomine kun is suddenly interjecting into the conversation, having caught up to Midorima kun and I along with the group.  
"What do you think you two are doing leaving the rest of us in the dirt? And Midorima, what the hell are you doing? Trying to get ahead of me, huh?! I may not have said it yet but I still love Tetsu too! And I was the first one who met him! How dare you try and beat me."   
"Trying to get ahead of you? I've been telling Kurokochi I've loved him for ages now! Ever since I saw him play basketball properly for the first time! It doesn't matter if you met him first, you never did anything about it so you lose! Shouldn't I be the one complaining about this?!"   
"Kise chin, Mine chin you're both wrong! Kuro chin belongs to me! I won’t let you steal him from me Mido chin! I said I loved him this afternoon, we were even going to play the pocky game, I bet you haven't stupid Mido chin!"  
"If any of you think you have a chance with my Tetsuya you are poorly mistaken. I have already claimed him as my own earlier this afternoon, if you want proof just look at the bite on his lip." I count them up, Midorima kun-1. Aomine kun-2. Kise kun-3. Murasakibara kun-4. And Akashi kun-5. 5 confessions. 5 confessions from my 5 teammates, my friends. I can hear dull sounds of the people around me continuing to yell but I can't make out what they're saying. This is too much, far too much for me; the last thing I think of before I can feel a sweet lull of darkness take me. I can't help it, I can't stop myself. I faint.


	8. Chapter 8

Murasakibara's POV:  
I try to block out the sound of everyone's arguing but I can still hear them. Why are they even yelling? Kuro chin is mine, he told me that we'd talk about me loving him this afternoon, surely he was planning on telling me he loved me back; what else could he have wanted to talk to me about? Aka chin starts yelling about some bite on Kuro chins lip, but it’s no9t him that I'm looking at. While everyone else is staring daggers at each other, I'm looking at Kuro chin, and he doesn’t look very good. His face has gone white and he's barely staying on his feet.  
"Guys, I don't think-" I start to say to the group, but they are just yell at me together.  
"Whatever you're going to say just shut up! We don't care about your snacks or whatever!" They all scream at me before going back to argue about who Kuro chin belongs to. All the while, Kuro chin himself is looking worse and worse.  
"I think he's going to pass out." I call out, but no one else is listening to me. A second later, I see that I was right. Kuro chin's eyes close, and he is falling to the ground.  
"Kuro chin!" I cry out in distress, leaping to the ground to catch him before his head hits the concrete. I manage to catch him in time, cradling his head with his so soft hair in my lap. His hair feels like fairy floss, it feels so nice. Everyone finally looks my way when they hear the impact.  
"Tetsu?" Mine chin asks worriedly, but there's no point in him saying that now.   
"What's the point of sounding all worried now Mine chin? You didn’t care when I was trying to tell you Kuro chin wasn't looking very well!" I am angry, I realise. Angry that the rest of my friends just stood and argued while Kuro chin was feeling so bad that he passed out.   
"You're all yelling about how much you love him, but none of you were there for him when he wasn't feeling well!" I let out my frustration and my anger on everyone, how can they go on about how Kuro chin is theirs when they can't even protect him? I'm the only one who can protect him!  
"We're sorry Murasakibarachi! We all thought you were just going to complain about how you were hungry or something! Is Kurokochi ok?" Kise chin apologizes on behalf of the group but it's not good enough! I'm still annoyed at them!  
"Why should I tell you if Kuro chin's ok? You wouldn't even care anyway!"  
"Atsushi, I do not like how you're speaking to me." Aka chin tries to intimidate me but I won't let him, he's always being so mean to me, bossing me around. I don't like it.  
"Well I don't like how mean you're being to Kuro chin! You all yell around him when he already had a fever this afternoon, and then you pretend to be worried when he actually collapses? Even if it's you Aka chin I don't like that at all!" I think I've made Aka chin really mad but I just don't care. He doesn't get to be mad at me when I'm the one who saved Kuro chin while he just stood and watched.  
"… I would usually not accept you talking like that, but I will let it slide since you did save Tetsuya from falling and hitting his head. For now, let's just continue on to the convenience store, the rest of you might have forgotten but I still have dinner reservations for Tetsuya and I and I plan to make them. If you give him to me I can carry Tetsuya there."   
"You? Carry Tetsu? You're not even 5cm taller than him, no way you can. I'll carry him."  
"Daiki, surely you know that despite my height, I am still capable of doing everything better than you."  
"Why should either of you get to? And before either of you even say anything, Mido chin, Kise chin, you shouldn't get to either! Were you the ones who caught him? No! I was! So I'm carrying him there." I scream out as loud as I can, my voice so full of all my rage. I don't wait for them to say anything back, I just pick up my little Kuro chin and drape him over my back, pulling his legs forward and holding them under my arms. The rest of the group looks annoyed, but they accept that they're not going to win this, and start walking with me; with no one on their backs. Serves them right, if they're mean, they don't get any Kuro chin. It's simply really. Speaking of Kuro chin, he's so light, it's almost as if I'm only carrying a feather. His tiny weight makes me think of fairy floss again. Just the feel of his body manages to calm me down, I'm still annoyed at my team, but at least I can enjoy being this close to Kuro chin now. I know the only reason I get to carry him is because he's feeling sick, and that's bad. I really hate to see someone I love in pain. But I still really like feeling his head leaning on my shoulder, burying into my neck. Kuro chin is so little and so cute, and right now; for this moment which I wish would go on forever; he's all mine. I love it, I love it, I love it. 

Kuroko's POV:  
"Ne, I think Kuro chin is waking up, but he's still not opening his eyes. Do you think he will if I give him his popsicle?" I hear a familiar voice, but it feels just out of reach.  
"No Atsushi, do not try and force-feed Tetsuya the popsicle. I told you to wait."  
"But he's not waking up! What if he's hurt or something? I know he passed out because he went into shock but he looked like he had a fever earlier this afternoon!"  
"We all keep telling you that he's not hurt! He just went into shock and that's all! No wonder, after everything we put him through." A new voice enters the conversation, Midorima?  
"You're talking about it as if it's our fault! You're the one who started it all by confessing to him! And just so you know, I'm so not believing your story about it being an accident at first." I think this voice is Aomine's, it's too rough to be anyone else's. I feel like I'm right on the cusp of consciousness, but I just can’t manage to open my eyes.  
"I'm telling you it was an accident! I would have never thought to confess to him if I was in a sane mood, but Murasakibara just made me so angry! And I knew that Kuroko would be in danger without his lucky item. You guys would have done the same if you were in my position. And how was I even supposed to know that I was somehow getting ahead of you guys? It's not like any of you told me you like him too."  
"You never told us anything though Midorimachi! We all thought you hated him. Don't you always hear me talk about how much I love Kurokochi?"  
"Yeah, but I never took your seriously! No one did!"  
"That's why I'm annoyed! I can be serious sometimes too you know! But you all just pretend like that would be so outrageous, silly Kise actually being serious for a change and not just the idiot you all laugh at! If anyone should get to have Kurokochi it should be me, so I don't like that you all went ahead and confessed anyway!"  
"You really should watch your tongue Ryouta, or you might find that it will no longer be staying in your mouth. Tetsuya is mine, and I will not let anyone say otherwise, unless of course you do have a death wish of some sort; in that case I'd be happy to oblige. None of you could possibly deserve him more than I do. I am absolute, I know this for a fact."  
"Oh just give it a rest with that already Akashi, I know what your personality is like and all but you're going too far. You can't own Tetsu, he's his own person. And I can assure you that I deserve him more than you do!" Aomine yells again, and suddenly I feel movement around me. I am finally able to open my eyes. When I do, I feel like I'm still in some weird dream. Kise and Midorima's heads are both bashing against each other, angry expressions on their faces. Akashi is literally on top of Aomine, holding the struggling ace down and pointing a pair of scissors at his throat, and Murasakibara sitting over all of them with an ominous look I do not want to see develop into anything further.  
"Can everyone just calm down please?" I call out and everyone turns to look at me, instantly forgetting whatever else they were doing. I am hit by a blast of noise as each of them calls my name in their own specific way. I almost wish I could just stay asleep, but I know that if I did the situation would not get any better, and I definitely can not leave Akashi alone when he's in the state.  
"Akashi kun, could you please put away your scissors?" I plead with him, and he slowly gets off of Aomine kun and puts the weapon away in his pocket.  
"Of course, anything for my Tetsuya. I'm sorry you had to wake up to such a scene." In the time that it takes me to think of a response to Akashi kun, Aomine kun is already talking.  
"Are you gonna say sorry to me as well Akashi? Cause last time I checked, threatening to kill me and holding a goddamn pair of scissors to my throat is worthy of an apology."   
"Don't speak nonsense Daiki, of course I won't apologise to you, you were wrong to disagree with me, and definitely wrong to speak so rudely to me. I was simply disciplining you."   
"Disciplining me? I am not just gonna take that crap from you, no matter how psychotic you want to be." Aomine yells back, and I feel like if I don't speak up everyone will just continue to argue around me for who knows how long.  
"Akashi kun, Aomine kun, please stop arguing. Whatever it is you're annoyed about I'm sure you can resolve it without yelling at each other." Thankfully, my words seem to have at least some effect on them; they both look to me sheepishly.  
"Sorry Tetsu, we shouldn't be yelling like this when you've only just woken up."   
"Yeah, Kuro chin probably still feels bad, you shouldn't be so noisy. Kuro chin, do you feel ok?"   
"I still feel a little dizzy, but I can sit up on my own at least." I tell them, sitting up as I do. The motion makes my head spin, but the sensation recedes a few seconds later.  
"It's good that you're ok, I guess it's pointless to try and hide it now; I was worried about you." Midorima kun tells me truthfully as he hovers over me. I look around me to see that everyone has now gathered around me, worried looks on all their faces. As I see them I remember why I am on the floor, and why my head hurts so much.   
"You, you all said that you…" I stutter my way through my memories, thinking of what feels to me like hours ago.   
"You l-love me, all of you…" Just the simply of speaking is so difficult for me, I can't even believe what I am saying. My teammates love me, they told me so. And I believe them. How could I not? They were all so serious, Kise kun didn’t seem like he was joking at all, Midorima kun's outburst was far too sudden and genuine to be fake, Aomine kun and Murasakibara kun were both so passionate when they talked, or should I say yelled, and as for Akashi- he already proved his feelings for me this afternoon.  
"Are you sure you're okay Kurokochi? You're turning pale again." I hear Kise kun, worrying about me again. I reach my hand up to my face, it's cold.  
"Yeah, I'm ok… I was just thinking. I don't really know what I should say next though." What I say is the truth; I'm more confused that I have ever been in my life. Even if I do believe that my friends were telling the truth; that they are actually in love with me, what am I supposed to say to that? I really don't know. Thank you? No, that definitely seems wrong. Should I reject them? Should I accept their feelings? Is it ok for me to accept one of them but reject the others? Wait a minute, why am I considering saying yes to them; telling them that I love them back? I don't… do I? God, I don’t know! It's not like I have any real experience with love! Momoi san has told me she loves me, and seems intent on clinging to me whenever I see her, but I've never seen her as anything more than a friend, I've always rejected her. But why is it that now, when I'm faced with the same situation from the rest of my team; I am hesitant to say no to them.  
"Tetsuya, we realize this must be hard on you. I can't decide what you should say, only you know that. But if you were smart, you'd choose me." Akashi kun advices me, but his advice isn’t helpful to me at all.   
"Tetsu is obviously confused Akashi! And you're trying to take advantage of that to make him your own? How low can you get?" Aomine speaks out against our captain, and in place of a response; I simply nod.  
"Aomine is right, if you loved Kuroko you'd be trying to help him, not use his confusion for your own gain. And you're forgetting something pretty important anyway! How do you know Kuroko will pick any of us? He could be straight, like a normal person!" Midorima's words make me think, and seriously reconsider what I thought I already knew. He says it's normal for a person to be straight, so does that mean I am? But if I were then why would I keep rejecting Momoi? She's a perfectly nice girl, shouldn't I like her back? I thought talking to everyone would sort things out for me but the more the say, the more questions I have.  
"You're thinking about it wrong Mido chin. Kuro chin was telling me before, there's 'like' and there's 'love'. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl, if someone makes your heart beat really hard and makes your chest hurt then that's the person you love; it doesn’t matter who they are." Murasakibara's oversimplification of my earlier explanation really does sound nice, being able to love whoever you wanted just because they made your heart beat a little faster, your chest feel a little tighter. It would be nice if things were that simple. But things are anything but simple for me right now.  
"Murasakibarachi, it's really not as simple as that. Just because that happens to you when you see Kurokochi, it doesn't mean that it happens to him when he sees you. Some people will feel that way for boys, and some people will feel that way for girls. And no matter how much you wish for it, you can't change if someone like boys or girls." Kise kun explains, keeping it as simple as he can so that Murasakibara kun can understand. I thought it when we were talking this afternoon and I still think the same thing; It really is amazing how Murasakibara kun has come this far in life without knowing about these kind of things. But can I really berate him for that? I don't even know my own feelings; so I'm really not in a position to critique someone else's.  
"Ok then, but if that's how it works, then how do we find out which one Kuro chin likes?" Murasakibara asks a question I myself want to know the answer to. Who do I like? If I find out will I be able to tell my team, to tell the people who love me? I want to have an answer for them. They may have surprised me, and ended up making me faint from the shock, but the more I think about it, the more I get used to the idea of being loved.   
"Well, I have one way we could try. If Kurokochi says I can." Kise kun almost sounds shy when he talks, which might possibly be a first for him. I think about his idea, if Kise is the one who came up with it then I don't really know if I can trust it, but I'm willing to try it if it will give me some answers. Kise kun looks at me expectantly, along with the rest of them. I speak up for the first time in a while.  
"I guess, if it will finally give me some answers; I'll try Kise kun's idea." It's as if Kise kun has a light switch at the back of his head, which lights his face up the second I agree to try whatever he has come up with.   
"Ok then, before I start, I'll say this; try not to be too surprised, Ku~ro~ko~chi!" Kise kun warns me, saying my name in a sing song voice. The rest of the team haven't said anything to condone or oppose Kise's plan, but I assume that since none of them have started yelling at each other again; they're willing to see what he has planned. Even Akashi kun sits quietly and waits. I wonder if I'm going to regret this.

Kise's POV:  
"Ok then, before I start, I'll say this; try not to be too surprised, Ku~ro~ko~chi!" I sing out, so immensely unbelievably happy that Kurokochi is going to let me go ahead with my idea. I bring myself down to his level and sit next to him, inching closer to his beautiful, lovely face. I could seriously stare at that face for hours at a time if I got the chance. But I don’t have the time for that right now, I have a job to do. I take in one more deep breath before I go past the point of no return. If I do this and Kurokochi doesn’t like it, I can pretty much say goodbye to any hopes of him loving me back, ever. And I just hope to god that Akashichi doesn't kill me for what I'm about to do. I close my eyes. Well, here goes nothing.   
I kiss him.   
I actually do it.  
I feel like everything around me is gone in an instant, I no longer feel my teammates stares, or the gentle breeze around me, all I feel is the person who's lips are dancing with my own. I stop thinking about how I will be judged for this, stop worrying about whether Kurokochi will like it or how angry Akashichi will be about it. How can I possibly focus on anything else when I am here with Kurokochi like this?  
His lips feel like, I don't know; how can I even describe something this good? They feel like a mix between impossibly sweet sugar and the softest cloud you could imagine. I can feel their moistness as my own saliva mixes with his. I open my eyes, only for a second; to see if Kurokochi is struggling against me; or if he's enjoying this. What I see threatens to make my heart smash into pieces from overuse. His eyes are clenched shut, and he's leaning into the kiss himself. Beads of sweat roll down his face; I can tell from just a second long glance that's he's enjoying this just as much as I am. I decide that just kissing him isn't enough, I need more of him. My arms reach up and wrap around his body, pulling him closer to me. I feel his chest pressing on mine, his hair run through my fingers. What I feel is pure unadulterated bliss, but it only lasts a second.  
"Aaaah, what are you doing?!" I shriek out as I am pulled from Kurokochi, I feel four pairs of hands; one pair on each of my arms, one wrapped around my head and the last pair around my waist. Kurokochi's lips are wrenched from mine as pleasure leaves me. I am thrown to the floor by the people who ripped me away from Kurokochi, and as I look up to meet their gazes; their faces fill me with fear.  
"Ryouta, I was just wondering, what the hell was that? It looked to me like you were kissing and groping something that belonged to me, but that couldn't be right. If I remember correctly you do like living." ...To put it lightly; what Akashi says is one of the scariest experiences I have ever been through; maybe even the scariest. I open my mouth but he stops me before I talk.  
"No, don't talk. I don't want to see the lips that you defiled my Tetsuya with. I was infuriated beyond belief, but I put up with your hysterics to a certain point. I did figure out what you were doing when you kissed Tetsuya; trying to see whether or not he liked males. But the moment you decided to touch him for reasons of your own pleasure, instead of in an attempt to find out the answer to a question we are all asking, that's when you crossed the line." Just as I think my situation can't get any worse, Aominechi, Midorimachi, Murasakibarachi; they all start yelling at me too. Screaming things like: 'How dare you touch my Kuro chin, he's only supposed to be doing that with me!', 'What on earth makes you think you have the right to kiss Kuroko? I will not allow it!' and finally, 'Kise you bastard, you think you can get away with doing that to Tetsu? You don't deserve to touch him!'. How is it that my immense, unimaginable pleasure can be stripped from my so quickly, and replaced with this hell? 

Kuroko's POV:  
Kise kun warned me not to be surprised, but I really don't think that was possible in the first place. The moment he placed his lips on mine I was shocked to say the least. His contact made me think back to hours ago with Akashi kun, I was hesitant at first; but when I just let myself relax and enjoy the kiss for what it was, I found myself starting to enjoy it; to crave the feeling of Kise kun's lips on my own. I even leaned into him on my own, wanting more. The thought scared me, it was so unnatural for me. But once I admitted to myself that I liked what Kise was doing with me, I gave up on trying to convince myself otherwise. Unconsciously I started to compare the feeling of Kise's kiss to Akashi's. Kise's touch is gentle, soft; as if he's afraid he'll lose me if he's too forceful. Akashi was the exact opposite; forceful, controlling and completely dominant. But when I think back on it now, with a clear mind not clouded by the shock, confusion, and fear from when Akashi actually kissed me; I find myself remembering it as a pleasurable event. Sure, he was rough with me; but it felt good. I remember the embarrassing sounds I made, moans leaking out of my overworked mouth. Mortifying as they were, they were a sign that I was enjoying myself. It's funny how much of a realization one kiss can make you have. When Kise's hands reached up and wrapped around me, I welcomed them. And when they were ripped away, my lips suddenly bare, I was understandably confused and despaired.   
Which brings us up to the current time. All of my team, excluding Kise that is; are standing tall and screaming at the whimpering boy on the floor, so scared you'd think he had a gun to his head. This isn't right, they all let him try out his idea, they shouldn't be harassing him for it now. I try to stand and realize that I'm still too dizzy to. I settle for scrambling over to Kise on my knees, placing myself between him and everyone else.  
"You're all scaring Kise kun so much! When he said he had an idea all of you let him try it, so why are you screaming at him for it now?!" I summon up my courage and give them all a piece of my mind. I haven't even caught the breath that Kise stole from me while we kissed, so I am left panting for air as I wait for their response. It is Aomine who answers me.  
"We let him try out what he wanted but that doesn't mean we're just going to stand around while he starts full-on making out with you!"   
"Like Akashi, I obviously realized that Kise was trying to find out if you would enjoy the kiss of a male, to see if he was straight or gay, but he didn't have to take it so far!"   
"I was the one who Kise chin was explaining things to anyway, if he wanted me to understand he should have let me kiss you." I feel my confidence slowly leaving me as my teammates keep on rebutting my outburst. But despite that, I still know that I did the right thing. They all told me they loved me, and I didn't even know if I liked their gender in general. Now that I finally know, they should want to know too, instead of fighting about the thing that made me realize.  
"I won't let everyone keep bullying Kise kun like this, none of you told him that he shouldn't kiss me, so you can't complain about it now! And it made me realize who I like, so shouldn't you all be happy?" I ask them all, and I'm pretty sure they're only just now realizing that yes, I do have an answer for them.   
"Ok then, if Ryouta has so kindly helped you learn whether you like men or women, why don't you educate us as well? Did you enjoy the kiss, Tetsuya?" I was yelling at them all a second ago but now that Akashi kun is asking me such embarrassing things I find myself barely being able to talk again.   
"Well, I…" You can do this, they all told you they loved you. This is what they want to hear. "I liked it. And it made me realize that even if I was scared of you at the time because of it, I liked your kiss too, Akashi kun." It seems so weird for these words to be coming out of my mouth. Before today I would have never been thinking of things like this, I would never have even questioned my sexuality, and I definitely wouldn't have seen my teammates as anything more than friends. I seem to have left everyone in a definite stupor, all of them have been shocked into silence. I wonder how long they spent thinking they were in love with me, but just assuming that what they felt would never be felt back? I feel like I wait an eternity for an answer, but finally Murasakibara speaks up.  
"So… Kuro chin, does that mean you love me too? Not the friend version, but the heart beating one?"   
"I, I think I do. But, I like Kise kun too, and Akashi kun, Aomine kun and Midorima kun . It's so hard for me to tell the different between like and love with all of you suddenly confessing to me. I know that sounds hypocritical since I was lecturing Murasakibara kun on the difference before, but it's the truth."   
"Kurokochi! Kurokochi, what about me? Do you like me or love me?" Kise kun doesn't even give me time to think before he starts questioning me as well. But just like with Murasakibara, I don't have a definite answer for him.  
"Kise kun, all I know for sure is that I like being with other boys, and I feel like I like you all the same amount. But that can't be right, I don't have much experience in love but I at least know that you fall in love with one person, not five. To be honest I'm pretty troubled, you've all made me very suddenly realize that I'm not going to fall in love with someone the way I assumed I eventually would, that the 'normal' kind of love isn't for me. I figured that out thanks to you all, but you really can't expect me to pick one out of the five of you and decide that that's the person I love, that I will reject all the rest of you, just to be with them. You're really expecting too much from me." I keep on talking and talking, not caring that I am rambling. I need to get this all out, I need them all to understand what I am going through.   
"Well, it seems as though we really have put you in a difficult position Tetsuya. Usually I would do everything in my power to make you mine. But hearing you speak like that, even I know that I can't just claim you for my own. If only for your sake, then I will play fair and let you decide. And I guess it will be possible to change my booking for tonight from a table for 2 to one for 6. But the rest of you had better be the most grateful I have ever seen you or I will not give it another thought." It surprises me to see Akashi kun compromising like this, I was so scared that he would just decide that he would not give up on me, and that he would hurt anyone who got in his way. He has gotten that way over other things before, I'm so glad he decided to be at least a little less psychotic this time.  
"I won't say thank you, Akashi. But I'm happy that you actually plan on treating us like human beings, and not just obstacles in your way."  
"Yes, yes Shintarou. I know how happy you must be. But you had better not get used to me being this nice to you all, I am letting you all have a fair chance to win Tetsuya over; let's do it like this: We'll all go out to dinner tonight, thanks to me I'll add, and at the end of the night whoever has managed to win over Tetsuya will get to keep him. The rest of you, will back off. Have I made myself perfectly clear?" Everyone seems to take a second to think about Akashi kun's proposition before agreeing to it. I am nervous to say yes to his idea, the whole idea of the generation of miracles competing over me sounds like it could get messy real fast. But after the day I've had, seriously; what's the worst that can happen? I tell him that yes, I will go along with his plan, and we all start walking to the restaurant. I really don't even know how to describe how exactly I'm feeling right now, I don't even know if what I'm feeling for my friends is like, or love. But I guess I'm about to find out.


	9. Chapter 9

Kuroko's POV:  
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid we're full at the moment. You'll have to wait until at least 7:30 if you want to upgrade your table to six people." The waiter tells us regretfully, and I can't blame him. It was awfully sudden for Akashi kun to show up at the restaurant 10 minutes before his booking demanding another 4 seats. But the waiter's apologetic response isn't enough to placate Akashi kun. I just hope he doesn't threaten the man.  
"I guess you mustn't know my name." He says, reaching forward to shake hands with the waiter. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Akashi Seijuro." It's as if the name 'Akashi Seijuro' was a synonym for the word 'king' or, 'dictator', because the instant the waiter hears it he is shocked, stuck to the ground by trembling legs.  
"Oh, um, I'll be back in a moment." The waiter hurries away as quickly as his body will take him, straight to the supervisor standing near the kitchen. I can see the two talking in hushed voices as the waiter points in our direction. A second later, the supervisor is greeting us.  
"I'm sorry for our earlier rudeness sir, we weren't aware of your title. If you'd like to follow me I'll show you to your table, with some complimentary appetizers to start you off of course." I know that Akashi kun is from a rich family, and I have been to his house and seen the maids and butlers, the sheer size of the mansion. But I am always amazed and surprised when he does things like this, simply stating his name and overruling the principles which normal people would have to go through. As we walk to our table I can hear Kise and Murasakibara kun cheering over the free food, but on a less happy note; I notice a small group of people being escorted out of the restaurant against their will. I suddenly feel a pang of guilt, because Akashi kun was so demanding, those people, the 'normal' people were forced to leave halfway through their meal, after they probably waited however long for that table.  
"We could have waited like anyone else would Akashi kun, now those poor people have to leave." I plead with him, but I know he won't really pay my words any care. His personality is the way it is, and he doesn't really react to people telling him he should change it very well.  
"Don't be silly Tetsuya, I am of a higher class than those people; it is normal for them to leave so that I can stay. You may not like it, but it is how society works. And anyway, I would do anything for my Tetsuya, kicking a few people out a restaurant barely even registers on that scale." His words are clearly meant to encourage me, but they don't. I simply nod at him and accept the fact that I won't win this argument. When we get to our table, we all sit down around it. I am sat at one end of the table, while Akashi is on the other. Aomine and Kise are on either side of me, with Murasakibara and Midorima next to Akashi. Waiters are at our table almost immediately taking our orders. Only minutes later our free appetizers are being brought out, and even if I still don't agree with how they came to us, I can't disagree with their flavour. This restaurant was picked by Akashi after all, so it's no wonder the food is amazing. Every bite is like a little piece of heaven, the only word I could think of to describe it would be divine. But no matter how good the food is, the atmosphere around me is still full of tension. I can see that each of my friends are thinking of what to say carefully, trying to figure out what they can say to make me like them more than the rest of them. Their competitiveness is putting me in a really difficult position, but I'm the one who decided that I liked boys, but then couldn't choose between them. In a way, this situation is kind of my fault; so I can't get too annoyed at them.  
"Ah, Tetsuya. You have some of the sauce from your food on your face. Let me get it for you." Akashi kun calls across the table, but before he can stand up and walk over Aomine has started talking.  
"Oh, don't bother yourself with walking all the way over here, I'll get it for him." The usually crass boy tells our captain in an overly nice, clearly fake voice. Akashi kun is clearly annoyed at this but says nothing, holding himself back. I start to protest, but I am too late. Aomine kun brings his tongue to my face and starts to lick. He gets the sauce away on the first flick of his tongue, making me arch up slightly just from that second of sensation. But he doesn't stop there, his tongue just keeps rolling over my face.  
"A-aomine kun what are you doing?" I stammer out totally flustered. We're in a very public, very high class place! Why is he doing something so lewd?  
"I'm just cleaning your face Tetsu, there's nothing wrong with that." He almost purrs out as his hands dig down into is own food being wiping them over my mouth, slowly.  
"Oops, you got more food on you. I guess I'll get that too." His words are making me even more embarrassed, I can see everyone at our table getting progressively madder and madder, staring daggers at Aomine kun. But I find it harder and harder to concentrate on anything when Aomine kun's tongue just keeps assaulting my face. It swirls around in circles on my cheek, just around my lips, leaving saliva all over me. I involuntarily start to shiver in pleasure. When he finally places his lips on my own I realize I've been waiting for him to do so, internally begging for that intimate touch. Memories of why we are even doing this or where we are leave me completely and I am left with only Aomine kun and nothing else. Aomine kun's lips, Aomine kun's smell, Aomine kun's feel, his touch. His kiss was slow at first, gentle. But as he continues to kiss me his lips only get rougher, more desperate and hungry. Not that I'm complaining. I can't stand the distance between us, I lean over to table to get closer to him and he does to same. Both of us half sitting on our chairs and half lying on the table.  
"What the hell do you two think you are doing in a public place?! Do you have no shame?" I want to keep kissing Aomine kun, I don't want to lose his touch, but Midorima kun's screams bring my back to reality as Aomine kun pulls away from me, a smug look on his face but a bright red blush on his cheeks. I look back at the rest of our group hesitantly. When I see them, I know what the absolute epitome of rage looks like. Everyone starts shouting at once, and I immediately regret my actions. Why didn't I push Aomine kun away when he started going overboard? That's what I should have done, instead I just added more fuel to the fire, leaning in and kissing him back. I wanted his kiss, I liked it, just how I liked Kise's and Akashi's. But still, I should have had the common sense to not let my pleasure take over when I'm in the middle of a high class restaurant. Silence sweeps over the room, all the members of the public, all the workers, they're all staring at Aomine kun and I; the centre of attention. I try to fade away, but no level of misdirection could make people forget my presence right now. In a second all of my friends break the silence and start to yell, throwing screaming insults at Aomine kun. Each of them stands up in rage, Murasakibara kun storms over to Aomine kun and lifts him up with his hand as if he were a cup of pudding weighing almost nothing. Akashi walks over to join him and slowly pulls his scissors out of his pocket, and Kise kun walks up to me, holding my waist and wailing at me, asking me why I would want to kiss Aomine. I can tell that Midorima kun is just as angry as the rest of them, but he doesn't move, too embarrassed by his surroundings to act as extreme as the others. A waiter hesitantly walks over to our table, a terrified look on his face, I guess I know which one of the workers drew the short straw.  
"I'm sorry sirs, but we would appreciate it if you would keep yourselves from yelling, and being overly… affectionate in our establishment." The waiter informs us briefly before hurrying back to his colleagues, clearly scared of the group of large, screaming men. His words make the group quiet, at least for now. I take the chance to speak up.  
"I'm-I'm sorry I acted so inappropriately. We're in a public place, I know you're all trying to win me over and all but I should have pushed Aomine kun away, I let myself get all flustered and forgot where we were." I try to calm everyone down, thinking that if I apologize; they will forgive Aomine kun and I. But I only get half of my wish.  
"You don't have to be sorry Kurokochi! It's all Aominechi's fault for kissing you all of a sudden!"  
"Kise chin's right! It's not Kuro chin's fault!" Both Kise kun and Murasakibara kun spit out in accusatory tones, they may be defending me but they're still being rude to Aomine kun. Almost the second they've stopped talking, Midorima is joining in on the argument.  
"Would you two stop defending him? Kuroko was kissing him back too!" I can't help but wish that once, just once, I could say something without it making all of my friends start arguing. I know how small the chances of this actually happening are, after all; these are my friends we're talking about. They're all about as far from normal you can get. But still, it would be nice.  
"Do we really need to assign blame? Sure, Aomine kun started it but I went along with it as well, I was just as bad. I still feel kind of weird about this whole thing, you're all trying to win me over, and I'm trying to figure out who I love, so kissing someone would probably help me find an answer. But I can't do that right now, in the middle of the restaurant, that's just obvious. Sorry, I'm not sure if all this even makes any sense, but I hope you can all just forgive Aomine kun and I and get back to our meal. We don't want to waste the table Akashi kun got us." I start to lay out my feelings, and as I talk I find myself unable to stop. Does what I'm saying even make sense? Am I making the point I want to, or am I just stringing together words and sounds into meaningless sentences? I worry, thinking back on what I said.  
"Tetsuya is right, we should not waste what I have given you all. So if you'd all like to stop whining, and like me, put up with the fact that even if you don't like it, everyone here has a right to at least attempt to win Tetsuya's favor, we can get back to eating. But don't think for a second that me putting up with you all is the same as me being happy, I am currently working very hard to hold back and not do unspeakable, violent things to you all. So don't push my patience any further." Akashi kun adds his opinion, causing a few worried looks from my team. Kise, Murasakibara and Midorima al look too scared to say anything back to Akashi, and while Aomine does look more annoyed than scared, he still doesn't dare to oppose his captain.  
"Fine, we will forgive you two for that… display. You'd better be happy about it." Midorima tells us, calming the rest of the group at least a little. Kise and Murasakibara both apologize as well, and we all manage to get back to our meals. Another waiter comes to our table and gives us menus for the main course, but Murasakibara insists that they give him something from the dessert menu.  
"Sir, you will be given a dessert, but your friend has paid for three course meals for all of you, you've paid for a main course so I need you to pick one."  
"But I want dessert! I already ate the savory food." He whines at the waiter who is starting to get flustered. I know Murasakibara kun, so I know how harmless he is, when he's in a good mood that is. But the waiter doesn't know that, and I can be sure that he's currently terrified of the giant man complaining to him.  
"I can take your order for dessert but you need to eat a main beforehand, I cannot take your money and then not give you what you've paid for." The waiter says desperately, trying to make Murasakibara kun decide on an order. I take a quick look at the menu myself and notice that the prices for the desserts and mains are pretty much the same.  
"Excuse me." I speak up, but the waiter is still looking at Murasakibara. I wonder how they've already forgotten my presence when Aomine kun and I were making such a scene before. Oh well, it can't be helped. I stand up this time and speak louder.  
"Excuse me!" The waiter finally notices me and turns around.  
"Oh, I'm so sorry sir, I didn't notice you there. Did you want to order?" The man looks like he's been given a huge shock, as if I've appeared out of thin air. It's nothing I'm not used to though.  
"I was wondering, if the desserts and the main courses cost about the same amount, why can't Murasakibara kun just order two desserts? I wouldn't suggest it for anyone else, but it seems like a totally normal thing for him." I give him my suggestion, and I can see him thinking through what I've said. I'm sure they're not used to such an odd request, but it does make sense for them to just give him two.  
"That's a good idea Kuro chin! Waiter, I want the chocolate cake and the strawberry tart please!" I can tell the waiter is confused, but he simply nods at Murasakibara and takes the rest of our, thankfully for him; normal orders. As soon as he is gone Murasakibara stands up and walks to me, pulling something out of his pocket when he gets here.  
"Thanks for helping me get two desserts Kuro chin, that man just wouldn't listen to what I said! Here, I'll give you this to say thank you." He holds out a piece of vanilla pocky, like the one he tried to give me earlier today. I start to move to take it, but remember that he probably won't let me have it that easily.  
"It was nothing Murasakibara kun, anyone would have thought of it. But before you suggest it, I don't think we should play the pocky game here, you saw what happened when Aomine kissed me." I say to him, rejecting his offer before he makes it. He pouts as he whines back.  
"I didn't even ask yet though! And when you said no before it was because we were in the middle of practice, we can do it now, right?" When I see the look on Murasakibara kun's face I want to say yes to him, I want to do anything I can to make him stop looking so sad. But I can't, the staff here have already asked us to refrain ourselves while we're in the restaurant, I can't just play the pocky game in the middle of our meal.  
"I'm sorry Murasakibara kun, but I can't play it with you right now." It almost breaks my heart to reject him, and it makes me question myself. When did I get like this? This afternoon I didn't have any regrets over not letting him play it with me, I just thought he was stupid for asking me. And now, only hours later I want to play it with him. Sure, I don't want to disappoint him, but just like Murasakibara, I want to see what he tastes like. Akashi, Kise, Aomine, they've all kissed me and they've all been slightly different, little differences in their kisses which suited their varying personalities. I want to see how Murasakibara's kiss differs, and I know that if I am really supposed to pick one of the five men in front of me, I need to give them all a fair chance. If I let Akashi and the other two kiss me, I really should do the same for Murasakibara and Midorima kun. But I can't do it here, I know that. I hear Akashi groan from across the table, clearly annoyed by Murasakibara and I.  
"I can't believe I'm actually about to say this. Tetsuya, as much as I hate it, if we all expect you to pick one of us, then all of us have to be given a fair chance. Atsushi, you can play the pocky game with Tetsuya, but go outside, would you? No one in this place wants to see that while they're enjoying their meal." Akashi kun said he couldn't believe what he was saying, and I can't believe him either. He's actually giving us permission to play, not just that, but encouraging us? I feel like spending the afternoon with everyone and seeing that they all have the same feelings as him has lightened Akashi kun up a little bit. I definitely prefer the current him to the one who was trying to claim me for himself before, threatening anyone else who touched me. I can't helped but be embarrassed when Murasakibara kun grabs my hand and pulls me out of my seat though. If I go outside now everyone here is going to know why, and they're all just going to be imagining me kissing Murasakibara. I want to kiss him, I do. But the fact that I want to is embarrassing as well, I freeze up from the thought.  
"Kuro chin? Let's go!" Murasakibara kun cheers from beside me, but I can't move. I can feel his hand embracing mine, covering it entirely.  
"I, I can't. It's too… too embarrassing!" I barely manage to stutter out, finding all the self confidence I had just a little bit ago gone.  
"Don't be such a baby Tetsu, I agree with Akashi, if I got to kiss you then everyone else should too. I don't like the idea, but you guys are still my friends, and we're on the same team for gods sake. If we can't let each other get a fair go at this then we're not gonna be able to work together on the court either."  
"And take it from me, you shouldn't let embarrassment stop you from doing things. I've learnt that so many times throughout my life, stopping myself from talking to you, or saying something rude just because I was embarrassed. It's just not worth it." Both Aomine and Midorima make attempts to calm me down, and it actually works. I feel some of the tension leave my body, my shoulders loosening. I nod my head and look to the group.  
"Well, if you all say so… I'll be back in a minute." I manage to get the words out, and Murasakibara leads me outside the restaurant. As we walk away I hear Kise kun yelling that we'd better be only a minute, that he'd be lonely if I stayed away from him for too long. The second the door opens a cold wind brushes over me, making me shiver. Murasakibara notices instantly and bends down to my height, wrapping his arms around me and warming me up instantly.  
"Thanks, Murasakibara kun, I'm not cold now." I get a satisfied look from Murasakibara as we walk further away from the shop, walking far enough to be unseen through the windows. When we go far enough, Murasakibara takes one of his arms away from me to reach for the pocky again, drawing his head to the same level as mine and placing one end in his mouth. I hesitate for a second before closing my mouth around the other side, tasting sweet vanilla the instant I do. I close my eyes instinctively, but when I open them I am greeted by big, purple orbs, shining with anticipation. I've never really thought of things like the colour of people's eyes before, I've never really had a reason to. But when I look into Murasakibara kun's face right now, I can't help but be amazed by the purple depths staring back at me, they're so beautiful. I find it difficult to take my own eyes off them, but I am finally able to when I hear the snapping of the biscuit in-between us, drawing our faces that tiny bit closer.  
"Your turn, Kuro chin." I take another bite, swallowing the biscuit and the all too sweet vanilla flavouring. When Murasakibara kun opens his mouth to take his third bite I can feel his breath play across my skin, we are that close. I take a deep breath myself and move my mouth again, by the time I have taken my bite there is only a centimetre between us, the next bite will be the end of the pocky.  
'Do you want the last bit Kuro chin, or should I have it?" Murasakibara asks me, not wanting to steal away the last of the sugary substance unless I'm ok with it.  
"You can have it Murasakibara kun, you're the one who likes sweets so much." He doesn't hesitate once I say he can eat it. I tear away my view of Murasakibara's eyes and close my own. I don't even mean to do it, it's just a reaction. I wait for what feels like forever until Murasakibara has eaten the last of the pocky, leaving only our lips and nothing else. The moment our mouths touch it feels like heaven, the vanilla taste from the pocky mixes with the taste of the boy in front of me. I'm not as hesitant as when I kissed Akashi kun or Kise kun before. I know this is what I want, and I want to make the most of it. I latch onto Murasakibara, burying myself deeper in his grip around me and moving my lips around his. Once the taste of the pocky is gone al I can feel is Murasakibara kun, but unsurprisingly, he tastes just as sweet as the lolly, maybe even more so.  
"Mu-Murasaki," I moan out, not even able to finish his whole name. Why does he have to have such a long name anyway? Mu-ra-sa-ki-ba-ra. It's just too many syllables, definitely too much for me to spit out while I'm focusing on the softness of his lips, the warmth of his touch, the feel of simply having his so close to me. It seems that he is able to say at least a bit more than I am.  
"Do you like the pocky game no Kuro chin?" He pants out, clearly out of breath.  
"I," I pause as his tongue rushes into my mouth, using the chance while I talk. "I love the pocky game, and I love…" Oh my god, how can he even do that with his tongue? I have to stop my sentence again, unable to continue on for a moment. "I love playing it with you." I tell him truthfully, and my confession seems to have made him even more motivated to make me feel good. The hands that had been keeping me warm hold on tighter and pick me up from the ground, pulling me all the way up to his height and holding me there, not stopping our kiss for a second while he does so. The constant pressure on my waist as he holds me up starts to hurt a little, his fingers digging into my ribs. I bring my legs up to his own waist and use them to hold myself up, reaching down and pulling his arms away. Once his arms are free I lace my hands in his, wanting to feel his presence even more. I usually get annoyed at Murasakibara when he won't stop eating sweets to practice, or when he constantly complains about not having sweets while we're in the middle of a game. But right now I am so very happy tat he spent all that time eating pocky and sucking on lollipops. His tongue has been trained by so many sugary foods and it has made him learn how to use it right. It assaults my mouth, my lips, sending pleasure soaring through every part of me. As I feel him slide across a particularly sensitive part of my mouth I can't help but think that he really knows how to use that thing. I want this moment to go on forever, I don't want to get down off of Murasakibara and part our lips. But I am becoming more and more aware of how long we've been out here. If we don't stop soon I just know that someone, whether it be Akashi, Aomine, Midorima or Kise will come out here and tell us to hurry up and get back inside, and they will see me virtually climbing on top of Murasakibara, in such an embarrassing position. I pull away from Murasakibara, I know that I won't be able to speak properly if I'm still kissing him.  
"Murasakibara kun I think we should…" His tongue slides down my neck now that I have taken my lips away from him. I shudder when I feel it, wondering again how on earth he can make me feel this good.  
" We should go back inside. Everyone's going to be getting sick of waiting for us." Murasakibara takes his tongue away from my neck, I involuntarily sigh when he does, but I don't ask him to put it back. I stop myself from doing so.  
"If you say we have to then I guess I'll stop. I don't want to though." He pouts as he answers me, obviously disappointed. But he understands that we can't stay like this forever.  
"I don't want to stop either, I want to just forget about everything else and keep kissing you. But I know that as soon as I go back in there I'm going to see everyone else, and I'm not going to know how to feel anymore. Because I'll remember how it felt to kiss you, but then I'll think of how it felt with Akashi, or with Kise or Aomine. And I'm sure that I'll even start imagining what it would be like with Midorima, you guys have managed to make me think all those kinds of lewd thoughts now." I admit to him, telling him of my worries while he picks me up and places me back on the ground.  
"Is that such a bad thing? Love is a nice feeling, so if you have so many people that love you, it should make you happy." There he goes again, oversimplifying the whole concept of love. And once again I wish that he could be right, I want it to be as simple as he sees it. But it's not that easy.  
"It makes me happy, I feel like I could never deserve so many people loving me this much, but when you all tell me that you do I can't argue with it. All your love makes me so unbelievably happy, but it's hard for me as well. Because I have to somehow pick one of you, and only accept the love they give me. I have to cut my happiness into a fifth of what it could be, and I have to take away happiness from four of you. And after everything you've all done for me, after kissing you all and being that close to you, I just don't know how I'm supposed to chose one of you. I just don't know." I can't believe it, but I almost start crying here and now. I don't want to make this decision, it's too hard, I can't do it.  
"You keep saying that you have to pick one of us, but I don't think you do. If so many people love you, and you love them back; why can't you just be happy with all of them? Why do you need to only be with one?" Murasakibara akas me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. You shouldn't have to chose one person, there's nothing wrong with loving more than one. But even if he thinks that, and even if I want to think that, I know the rest of my team wouldn't accept it. Akashi kun is so possessive, he gets so scary when someone is trying to take something of his. And Kise kun is so dependent on me, I don't think I could make time for him and four others. It's clear that Murasakibara would be ok with it, and I think that maybe, just maybe, Aomine kun might be as well. I don't think he'd like the idea, but I get the feeling he'd go along with it. Midorima however would probably say no, I'm pretty sure of it.  
"You know what Murasakibara kun? I want to agree with you, I really do. But I just can't, what you're talking about is nice, and it does sound like the best thing for me. But it just wouldn't work out in the real world like you think it would. Even if you and I like the idea, I doubt the rest of our team will as well. They won't want to share me, I know it."  
"You know it, or is that just what you think? Because if you don't ask them yourself, you'll never know what they truly think. Who knows, maybe they'll be willing to share you." He tells me as we walk back into the restaurant, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Ok then, maybe I will ask them. But don't get your hopes up too much, you know how possessive Akashi kun is, or how much Kise kun will whine about it. I could go on but I think you get the gist." I decide on our way back, but I don't think it'll be any use. I really do doubt that they'll accept Murasakibara's idea, but why not; I might as well try.


	10. Chapter 10

Kuroko's POV:  
"Welcome back you two, I'll have you know that it's now been a whole 2 minutes and 40 seconds since you went outside." Midorima looks down at the stopwatch on his phone as Murasakibara and I walk back to the table. I think back to what Murasakibara was saying only seconds ago, that I shouldn’t have to chose between everyone. That if I ask them, they might just accept the fact that I want to pick all of them, and not just one. But I decide to leave that for later, it’s not something you just bring up in the middle of a meal. After we're done eating, before everyone leaves. That's when I'll ask them.  
"You said you’d only be gone for a minute Kurokochi! I got lonely when you still hadn't come back!" Kise pipes up, a sad look on his face. I walk past the both of them and take my seat again, hoping that if I don't pay too much attention to their antics they'll sit back down as well. Surprisingly, they actually do as I hope and sit back down, but even though he's seated Kise continues talking.  
"Well Kurokochi, how was it? Did you like his kiss or mine better?" He asks me with interest blazing in his eyes. His questions makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing I should be talking about amongst all these people trying to win my affections. Before I can tell Kise kun this however, Murasakibara interrupts.  
"Kuro chin tasted really nice Kise chin. Way better than any sweet!" I can feel my cheeks heat up hearing someone talk about me that way. When I look around the room I see that Midorima's face is just as red as mine, obviously embarrassed by the same lewd thoughts I am. Murasakibara starts to continue on but Akashi kun stops him.  
"Please Atsushi, none of us want to hear that, I let you kiss my Tetsuya so will you please just sit down and eat? Your food arrived while you were gone." I look down at the table and notice that there is in fact a new plate waiting for me. I start eating it straight away, and I can tell that even though Murasakibara kun may still want to talk about our kiss, the sight of the dessert in front of him has tempted him too much. Within minutes we are all back to normal, enjoying our meals and making small talk; acting as if Murasakibara and I hadn't just gone outside for what I can only describe as some sort of make out session. The name of my main course was in some other language, either French of Italian I think. But it’s some kind of pasta and it taste delicious. I don’t mean to sound cliché but the sauce literally melts in my mouth.   
"Ne Kurokochi, your pasta looks really good! Want to swap a bite of mine for one of yours?" Kise asks me in a bubbly voice, holding out a fork with a piece of chicken on it.  
"Ok then.." I say, somewhat hesitantly. I only have to lean forward a little bit since Kise is sitting right next to me. I close my mouth around the fork and biting down on the food. I instantly wish I had ordered some of Kise's dish as well, I really don't know many words to describe the fine details of food and what not, but it really is delicious. Kise then uses the same fork to grab some of my pasta and eat it up, smiling as soon as he swallows it.  
"Mmm, I wish I'd ordered yours Kurokochi! It's so yummy!"   
"I really liked yours too Kise kun, everything I've had here has been so good, I wish I could just try everything." I burst out as I smile, finding that even though this food is amazing on its own, it tastes even better because I'm eating it with friends, with people I care about.  
"Well, if that's what you want why don't you just eat everything?" Murasakibara asks me in a questioning tone.  
"I'm not like you Murasakibara kun, I don’t think I could eat even a quarter of everything on the menu without feeling sick from being so full." I respond, clearly stating the obvious, But everyone else just looks at me as if I've said something silly.   
"You don't have to eat a full course of everything, you just need to have a taste of the flavours. You know what I mean Shintarou, so help me set out the table for it." Akashi tells me, but I don't really get what he's saying. Midorima wordlessly starts to help Akashi rearrange the table, taking away the food in front of everyone and instead placing all the dishes in the middle.  
"I see what you're doing! Now we can all have some of everything!" Kise calls out triumphantly as if he's solved some grand mystery.   
"You don't have to sound so proud for figuring it out Kise, it's obvious what they're doing." Aomine scolds him, reaching over the table to whack Kise on the head.  
"Aominechii! Why would you hit me? That huuurt!" Kise goes back to his whining, in the same high-pitched voice as always. I decide to comfort him, I know he really doesn't need it, but it'll get him to stop snivelling.  
"Don't you want to see how everything tastes Kise kun? You won't be able to if you're too busy arguing with Aomine kun." My words seem to have the desired effect, Kise smiles and tells me I'm right before grabbing his fork again and digging into the feast in front of us. Akashi and Midorima have rearranged all the dishes so that we can all take a bit of everything and share what we’ve ordered. Sort of like a picnic. I've always felt like a picnic would be fun, I guess I know for sure now that it is.   
"Who ordered the pork? It tastes so good!" Aomine cries out, going straight for more of the dish.  
"That would be me, I always pick the best meals at restaurants. These noodles you picked are pretty nice as well, Shintarou." Akashi says as he spins noodles onto his chopsticks. I take a bite of the rice dish Aomine ordered and can taste the difference between it and normal rice you'd have for breakfast. The seasoning on it makes my tongue tingle. We take our time eating, making comments here and there about each dish. Everyone at this table have been arguing over something throughout the afternoon. Whether it was getting annoyed at someone for kissing me, yelling about who loved me the most, wait; have I really been the cause of all our arguments this afternoon? Let me think, they all got annoyed because they wanted to be alone with me and I had invited other people, they didn't like someone other than themselves kissing me or confessing to me, Akashi was getting mad if anyone even touched me. I start to feel guilty, I guess Akashi was right when he was talking to me during practice. I really am the one thing that links our team together and makes it fight within itself. I do feel kind of bad about it, but it makes me feel special too. They all care about me so much that they'd fight their teammates for the chance to be with me, I can't believe that I have people who love me that much. It's actually insane. When I look around at the smiling faces around me, all chatting and finally getting along again, it makes me really happy. But I do notice one thing when I do so, Murasakibara is the only one of them not smiling. He's finished off his chocolate cake and now he's just sitting there.  
"Is everything ok Murasakibara kun?" I ask him out of concern, and he looks at me as if there's been some sort of disaster.  
"No, it's not ok! Why didn't any of you order any desserts? I want to try all different kinds of sweets." He moans, like a child who hasn’t gotten their own way. He was looking all sad over this? I really had nothing to worry about after all...  
"Oh, don't fret Atsushi. Look, they're bringing out our last courses now." The sight of six different desserts on their way to our table makes Murasakibara's eyes light up in earnest. When the waiters ask us who ordered each dish, Murasakibara speaks over Akashi before he can explain our picnic like arrangement.  
"They're all for meeee! Give me the sweets!" Right now, Murasakibara really does sound like some kind of evil villain. But instead of demanding money or anything like that, he's crying out that all the sweets belong to him. It's kind of cute. I start to laugh, just a bit of a chuckle, and Kise joins me as well. But the rest of our table doesn't seem as pleased. Aomine stands up and takes a step towards Murasakibara, whacking him on the head before sitting back down.  
"Don't act like such a child Murasakibara, you can't have them all." He says in a cruel tone, but I can tell that he's not totally serious by the smile on his face. "You can just leave them all in the middle, we're all sharing everything." The waiters nod at Aomine and place the food down. I've just eaten two courses here and yet I'm still amazed when I see all the food. Strawberry tarts, ice cream, towers of fudge presented so beautifully and a couple foods I don't know the names of, which still look delicious none the less.   
"Hmph, you're just being a bully Mine chin, I'm gonna eat it all before you can!" Murasakibara declares, and everyone else at the table, including me of course; sees the statement as a challenge. We all yell back to him in unison; "You're on Murasakibara!" Everyone has their own way of calling his name though. We all wield our spoons and forks as if they were weapons, and the sugary meals were a battlefield. Murasakibara may be fast, but he's on a team full of the fastest basketball players in the country. I go for a scoop of ice cream first, ignoring the slightly painful cold feeling on my teeth and only registering it's amazing taste. Before I have even finished swallowing I am opening my mouth for a piece of cake, just as delicious as the ice cream. I try to grab a piece of the fudge but Akashi's fork reaches it at the same time as mine. He looks at me with a lopsided smile.  
"I'll be nice, you can have half." He tells me, leaning forward to bite the sweet. I do the same, my teeth easily moving through the soft surface. I feel the familiar sensation of Akashi's lips for a few seconds, before he winks at me and continues to eat other dishes. Our dessert battle last a total of five minutes before all the food is gone. Aomine and Murasakibara have an intense staring battle over the last piece, and while they do Midorima uses the chance and takes the piece of cake from between them, smirking as he eats it.   
"Midorima you bastard that was mine!"  
"No, it was mine Mido chin! I wanted the last bite!" Both Murasakibara and Aomine yell out, frustrated that they lost to Midorima.  
"Maybe if you'd spent less time staring at each other and more time eating, you would be tasting this delicious cake right now instead of me." He teases them, putting extra emphasis on the word delicious. Aomine and Murasakibara look like they're about to take the dispute further, and both Kise and I stand up to stop them at the same time.  
"It's rather childish to fight so much over a piece of cake you know."  
"Murasakibarachi, Aominechi, nobody likes a sore loser!" We both scold the pair of teenage boys at the same time, making ourselves burst out laughing from the absurdity of the situation. Our light-heartedness seems to calm down everyone else, and before long we are all simply laughing together. After a few minutes, I realise that it is probably time for us to leave the restaurant, and speak up.  
"I know we're all having a good time but we should probably get going already. There's still lots of people waiting for tables, and there's a place I saw when I went outside with Murasakibara kun where we could all sit down." I tell them, and they stop laughing to agree with me. Akashi walks over to the front desk to make sure the bill has been settled, and the rest of us walk outside. When Akashi is done with the staff, he joins us outside as well and I lead everyone to the park area nearby the restaurant. I take a seat on one of the park benches while everyone else just stands around me.  
"You guys can sit down too if you want." I encourage them to join me, but they all just look at me with serious eyes, completely changed from the laughing group I was with minutes ago.  
"Tetsuya, we've spent the night with you, and now we'd like your answer." Any trace of light-heartedness is gone entirely from Akashi's face, he is being serious. In amongst all the fun we were having during dinner I had totally forgotten that this time would come, that I would have to either pick between them or try my luck at Murasakibara's idea. I thought I had decided on what Murasakibara said but now that it's come down to it I'm starting to doubt myself. Is it really the best thing to do right now? I think, second guessing myself. Before I am able to come up with an answer however, I look up to see a look of sudden realisation from Kise kun.  
"Wait a minute Akashichi, I just remembered, everyone has gotten to kiss Kurokochi but Midorimachi still hasn't! It's not fair to him if Kurokochi picks now!" Kise points out, surprisingly worried about Midorima kun. Akashi sighs in annoyance at the interruption, but doesn't stop it. Midorima doesn't seem very pleased though.  
"What makes you think I want to kiss him? It's not like I'm jealous of all of you getting to do it when I didn’t." Midorima sputters out, but I, along with everyone else, see through his tsundere act immediately.  
"Is there really a point to you continuing to act like that Shintarou? You've already told Tetsuya how you feel and you're still here with him, so I think it's safe to assume he's not going to suddenly stop being your friend because you want to kiss him." Akashi tells him, pointing out how impractical it is for Midorima to keep hiding his true emotions from us all. When he can tell that Midorima is too shaken up to retort, Aomine sighs and joins the conversation.  
"Ugh, is everyone ok with just getting this over so Tetsu can choose one of us?" It takes a second, but Kise, Akashi and Murasakibara all say yes to Aomine. Midorima and I are left in the dark as to what they're talking about though. Murasakibara comes over and gestures for me to stand up, whispering in my ear to stay still when I do. I still don't know what's going on, I know they were talking about Midorima kissing me but are they going to make him do it right now? Surely not, I know they've all been getting more comfortable expressing their feelings and giving each other fair chances tonight but still, this has to be too much. I don't believe that Akashi would be happy to make someone else kiss me, and then watch it too.  
"Ok Midorima, you're gonna thank me for this later." Aomine says as he places his hands roughly on Midorima's back before pushing him towards me. All I see before we collide and our arms go around each other is a blur of green hair.   
"Mm, Aomin-!" Midorima starts to scream out, annoyed at Aomine for pushing him into me. But I don't let him. As odd as I think it is, I will take the fact that they literally forced us together to be my team saying it's ok for Midorima and I to kiss. I smother his lips with my own, silencing the words he would have said, but didn’t get the chance to. He stands stiffer than a statue, a mix of embarrassment, surprise and awkwardness in my arms. I feel bad for him, simply talking to me normally is a difficult task for him, I can only imagine how hard he is trying to stay composed when he has just been thrust into me, the person he loves. I want to help him calm down, I need to. I part my lips from his for only a few seconds, long enough for me to whisper in his ear so that only he hears.  
"You can relax, Midorima kun. I won't think badly of you no matter what you do." It's only a subtle difference but I feel the tension starting to leave the boy in my arms, I wouldn't say he's calm by any means, but he's at least a little more relaxed. I bring my mouth back to his and continue the kiss, I can feel the heat of his face from here. I am too focused on the feel of his lips to see it, but I know for sure that his cheeks are burning bright red right now. As my lips continue to feel their way over his, I start to understand what Midorima's kiss feels like as opposed to everyone else's. His is definitely the most innocent, and I can easily tell that he's never done anything like this before. He reminds me of myself, it feels like so long ago now but it really was only hours ago. Before Akashi started all this by kissing me, and taking my first kiss. I wouldn't call myself an expert but the rest of my team has helped me get some practice. I try to put it to use on Midorima, making up for his lack of experience with my practice. It may sound silly, but it’s definitely working. At first he was hesitant, but as I keep going Midorima is kissing me back harder and harder, finally finding his passion. He may have been innocent and pure mere seconds ago, but he's also a quick learner. I can still feel his heat, his blush hasn’t receded in the slightest. But he is pushing past his embarrassment and answering each slide of my lips or flick of my tongue with his own. If I had to describe Midorima's taste I don't really know what I would say, for some of the others I had definite tastes I knew. For Murasakibara it was sugar, but for Midorima I can’t think of anything to describe it. I like it, I know that I like it so much. But all I can think is that it's Midorima's taste, that this is him. I can't focus enough on anything that is not him to associate that taste with anything else. I try to send my tongue past his lips, wanting to feel all the depths of his mouth, but he is pulled away from me before I can.  
"All right, that's enough. We let him have his fun." Aomine says with a smirk as he pulls Midorima away, stopping the two of us before we can go any further. I guess I should have seen it coming, I knew it was odd for them to be so willing to let Midorima kiss me, I should have realised that they wouldn't want him to go too far. Now that he has been taken away from me however, Midorima seems to remember where he is, and who is watching him. If he was embarrassed before I don’t even know what to call this. He looks so mortified that he would happily jump off the edge of the world and simply be taken by oblivion right now.  
"Aomine! Why, why, why did you do that to me?!" He screams out in anger, his face still a shining red portrait. Aomine only chuckles.  
"You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself, so why're you getting mad at me now?" Aomine says with a laugh, clearly knowing why Midorima is so worked up but still teasing him about it. Midorima takes a moment before he starts to speak, trying to regain his dignity at least a little bit.  
"...I may have, um, enjoyed it. Just maybe." He says as if he were a child admitting some crime to his parents, head down in shame. I can pinpoint however, the moment when that shame turns once more into anger as he continues talking. "But still! I didn't appreciate you pushing me into Kuroko and forcing me to kiss him like that!! Do you even realise how embarrassing it is to do that and have you all watch me?!" He bursts out in rage, waving his arms in the arm like a mad man as if doing so would emphasis his point. Aomine is still unfazed though.  
"Oh give it a rest with the tsundere act, we all know you're happy you got to kiss the boy of your dreams, oh so lovely Kuroko." I don't really know what kind of accent Aomine is trying to imitate as he makes fun of Midorima, but it's clearly meant to be a refined one. His comment clearly makes Midorima mad, but he holds his anger in. He finally seems to have seen the pointlessness in continuing the argument.  
"I'm still annoyed at you for how you did it, but thank you for letting me kiss Kuroko. And if you want to stop making fun of me I'd like to stop arguing with you." Midorima replies, surprising me with his maturity. Aomine simply smiles and says that he'll stop.   
"Are you all quite down now?" A commanding voice breaks us all away from watching Midorima and Aomine as we see an irritated look on Akashi's face.  
"Aka chin? Are you mad about something?" Murasakibara asks our captain innocently, forced to look down at him because of his height. For not even the first time today, Akashi pushes the giant down onto a chair; this time it's the park bench, and looks down on him.  
"I'm not mad right now, and I hope I won't have to be. I was simply asking if Shintarou, Tetsuya and Daiki were done messing around." While he has taken control of the group, Akashi doesn't seem to be truly angry, which is a good thing for us.   
"Sorry Akashi kun, we're done." I tell him sheepishly, slightly afraid. His face lightens up at the sound of my voice though, making a smile.  
"That's good to hear. Now that all of us have had equal chance to win you over, and none of you will be interrupting me anymore, " Akashi stares down Kise as he says the last part. "I'd like to return to the topic from before. So if you'd like to tell us your choice Tetsuya, we're listening." This is it, the moment I've been dreading. And I know that this time, like Akashi said, nothing is going to get us off track. I think back on everything that happened today, on each person in front of me. Akashi kun can be scary sometimes, but he's always been there to protect me as well, and he was the person who noticed my potential as well. The one who brought me from the third string to the first, so that I could meet all the other people in my team. But if I'm thinking of who I met first, that would be Aomine kun. Before Akashi kun brought me up I practiced alone with Aomine, who didn’t care how bad I was at basketball, but just wanted to share his love of the sport with me. He's the person I call my best friend, and we've shared so much. Kise kun might annoy me sometimes, and he is awfully eccentric, but that’s the part of him which draws others to himself. He's always so energetic and bright, and he can cheer me up no matter how bad I'm feeling. God, the more I think about this the harder it gets. I used to think that Midorima kun didn't like me, that he hated me even. But now I understand his feelings and how hard he'd been trying to hide them from me. How tortured his love for me made him, and it makes me feel so special to make someone feel that way. The only one left now to consider is Murasakibara. His childish nature can be a bother but it can be so cute at times as well, and even if his is a glutton he'll often share his treats with me. Plus his view on the world is one that I admire, and wish I could see as well. After thinking about all of them my suspicions are confirmed. I really can't pick one of them. I try to think of cons to each of them, reasons to not love some of them. But every time I do I just manage to turn that negative into a positive! I guess I didn’t really notice it until I was forced to, but I've become so attached to all these people over the few years I've spent with them. I really can't imagine any life without them in it. Even with four of them there and only one missing, my life would not be the same and I know it. Once I have reached this conclusion, I decide on what to do. The only thing I can do. I don't think it'll work, I want it to. I desperately want it to, but I don't think it will. Regardless, I'm still going to try. I will regret this moment for the rest of my life if I don't even try.  
"I won't" I say defiantly, breaking the silence I had left while I thought. Only two words, but words which carry a heavy weight.   
"Excuse me? You won't tell us your choice? My orders are absolute Tetsuya, you will pick one of us, right now." At any other time his words would terrify me, Akashi's tone is proof that he is not messing around. That he is not asking me, but ordering me. But this isn't any other time, I know what I want to do, and I am not going to let anyone stop me.  
"I said, I won't. I won't pick one of you. I tried, I really did. But after everything you've all down for me, all the time I've spent with you all. After being so intimate with each of you, there's simply no way I will ever pick only one of you. My answer is all of you, I pick each and every one of you. Akashi kun, I pick you. Aomine kun, I pick you. Kise kun, I pick you. Murasakibara kun, I pick you. And Midorima kun, I pick you. If you have a problem with that, then go right ahead and tell me. But it's how I feel, and I want you to accept it."


	11. Chapter 11

Kuroko's POV:  
"I said, I won't. I won't pick one of you. I tried, I really did. But after everything you've all down for me, all the time I've spent with you all. After being so intimate with each of you, there's simply no way I will ever pick only one of you. My answer is all of you, I pick each and every one of you. Akashi kun, I pick you. Aomine kun, I pick you. Kise kun, I pick you. Murasakibara kun, I pick you. And Midorima kun, I pick you. If you have a problem with that, then go right ahead and tell me. But it's how I feel, and I want you to accept it." I don’t let any of them interrupt, I say what I have to say until I am done. Not that I had anything to worry about though, none of the people in front of me could say anything even if they wanted. They are clearly too shocked. I realise now how loud I was speaking, that what had started out as a defiant, but not particularly loud speech turned into me screaming out for anyone nearby to hear. Declaring all the new found feelings I have gotten to know this afternoon. I wait for what seems like an eternity, but the silence around me continues to proliferate.   
As I look at the shocked faces in front of me I wonder if maybe I sounded too aggressive. But they all confessed to me with screaming voices, am I not allowed to do the same?  
“Ku-kurokochi…” Kise is the first to say anything but even he can only manage to say my name. I look over at Murasakibara but he’s just as surprised as the rest of them. I guess he’d just assumed that I wouldn’t make use of his idea, that I’d think it was stupid.  
“…Tetsuya, let me make sure I understand correctly.” Akashi starts, trying to sound like his normal self and failing. I can hear his voice shake.   
“You pick us all? That’s what you said?” He asks me and I nod in return. He’s trying to make some sense of my proclamation, but it’s clear that it’s a foreign concept to him. As he continues, he sounds more unsettled than I’ve ever heard him, having to think through every sentence before he says it.  
“But, you can’t. You have to pick one, you can’t go out with five people; that’s, that’s. It would be cheating. Not being with you as a lover is one thing, but sharing you with these four? Knowing that whenever I’m with you, we’ll just be doing the same thing you’ve done with someone else. That no matter where I touch you, it won’t be special because they’ll all be touching you in the same place. No, I can’t do it.” He says, probably imagining the situations he’s talking about while he does. The thoughts look like they bring him real physical pain, his face wincing. It’s overly clear that he’s far from being on board with my idea.   
“I think it’s a good idea! I was the one who told Kuro chin about it in the first place. You all love him so much! And Aka chin, I don’t know much about love but even I can tell how much you care about him! You wouldn’t be so protective of him if he wasn’t special to you, and I feel the same way as you! Wouldn’t you rather be with him than not? I know I would.” Murasakibara finally speaks, backing me up. I was wondering why Murasakibara wasn’t saying anything when he was the one who encouraged me to do this in the first place, but his support of my decision really makes me happy. I smile at him, thanking him for standing up for me. But Akashi only glares at him, and his gaze is soon joined by Midorima’s, staring Murasakibara down as he talks down to him.  
“You don’t know what you’re talking about Mursakibara. Love isn’t that simple, if it was; it would be a hell of a lot easier for people like me. Love is special because it’s hard, you can’t just make up the rules as you go along to avoid choosing someone to love. I agree with Akashi, if I can’t have you to myself I don’t want you at all.” I feel my heart sink further. I was an idiot after all, why did I ever think they would agree to this? Akashi rejected my idea, Murasakibara tried to defend it but it did no good. I predicted what Midorima’s reaction would be before I even asked, and it was pretty close to what actually happened. I didn’t think he would accept it, but I told myself; take a risk! How did I ever manage to convince myself that was a good idea? I start to feel moisture pooling in my eyes but I push it back, hoping no one noticed.   
“Look at what you’ve done now! Kurokochi is almost crying because you were so mean to him!” I guess Kise noticed me.  
“Is sharing him really such a bad thing? I love Kurokochi. Every time I see him I just want to hug him and never let go. But even when I learnt that you all felt the same, those feelings didn’t change! I still loved him, I knew he had been kissed by someone who wasn’t me, but that didn’t make me not want to kiss him anymore. Hell, when him and Aominechi were kissing at during dinner my very first thought wasn’t to stop them, but to join them! If I still feel like this, then sharing him can’t be all that bad!” He cries out passionately, desperately trying to convince everyone with his declaration. Honestly, I am a bit embarrassed when he admits that he wanted to join Aomine and I in our kiss, then I wonder what would have happened what he actually did. The shocked looks from the public were bad enough with just the two of us, how much worse would they have been with three of us? I realise that Kise has made me go off track, and think back to the present time, looking around to see everyone’s reactions, hoping with all my heart that Kise has made a difference. He hasn’t.  
“Talk for yourself, just because you think that sharing Tetsu isn’t a big deal it doesn’t mean we agree with you. I don’t think I could stand it. Before any of you met him Tetsu was my friend, it was just him and me. When Akashi brought him up to the first string I accepted that it meant I would have to share his friendship with the rest of you, but I won’t do it again. I’ve already done it once, I’m not sharing his love as well. “… I really thought that Aomine might accept this. Everyone else I doubted, but Aomine’s my best friend and I’m his. Does that count for nothing? I can’t stop the tears this time.  
“I thought… I thought that even if everyone else said no, that you’d be on my side. You’re my best friend Aomine kun, why?” I can feel the streams running down my face, dampening my cheeks. How is it that all my hope from before has evaporated so quickly? I feel so embarrassed. I laid all my feelings on the line and they weren’t enough. Midorima and Akashi look guilty over me crying, as if they know it’s their fault but don’t know what to do to help. Aomine looks the worst though, I’m sure I’ve made him feel terrible, pretty much accusing him of betraying me. I know I shouldn’t be so selfish and stubborn, but who I fall in love with kind of concerns me. Sometimes I need to take my rights and stand up for myself, say the things I want to instead of holding them back. Now is one of those times.  
“Tetsu I, I didn’t mean to make you cry… I,” He stumbles out, failing to answer my question. Why? Why would he rather be alone than share me with someone else? They’re the ones putting pressure on me to decide, telling me how important their love for me is, how crushed they’ll be if I reject them. Can’t they understand that I’m trying my best to come up with something that’ll be best for everyone? I’m really trying! I feel my legs shake and almost fall to the ground. Before I can hit the cold surface big, solid arms are tossed around me, stopping my descent. I look up into Murasakibara’s face as he bundles me up in his grip, holding me tight and keeping me safe.   
"Thanks Murasakibara kun." I say through a crying face, he smiles back down at me and hugs me tighter, wrapping me up in his warmth.   
"I, I know we've put a lot of pressure on you. A few hours ago you didn't have to deal with any of this love crap. Now you've got five of us all telling you to pick us, that we love you the most. I know how hard it must be for you to choose. But picking all of us isn't an answer, it's just an escape." Aomine tells me, trying to console me. But he's wrong, I'm not just trying to escape from the weight of the decision they've asked me to make. It's more than that. On a multiple choice test there's always four or five choices, and then one that says 'all of the above'. Sometimes, you can't pick only one thing, because the answer is so much more than that. Whether it's on some random, inconsequential test, or a real life situation I'm facing at the moment it's the exact same thing. The question of who I love doesn't have a single answer.   
"It's not an escape. It's not. It would be easy for me to just pick one of you arbitrarily, or just reject all five of you. I would just have to expel a tiny bit of breath, say a few words. That's the easy way out. I'm not doing that, that's not what I want to do at all. Picking all of you is just as valid an answer as picking one of you! The love I feel is made up of little bits of all of you, you can't change that and neither can I." I say my thoughts out loud to Aomine, telling him why his point is wrong. Why can't they just understand? They all say they want me to be happy, this is what would make me happy! I rack my brain thinking of a sure fire way to convince them, something they won't be able to dispute. While I'm thinking Midorima spits out a response to me, saying that it's rude to everyone who's confessed to me to prolong this, that I'm being cruel by not picking one of them. But he's wrong. Aomine, Midorima, Akashi, they're all wrong. I think back to what Akashi said about touching me not being special if someone else has already done the same thing. Then I think of what Kise said about still wanting to kiss me even though I'd kissed someone else. It gives me an idea. They won't be able to argue against this.   
"Close your eyes." I say in a commanding voice, Akashi had started backing up Midorima while I thought but he stops when I speak.  
"Why do you want us to close our eyes Kuro chin?" Murasakibara asks me from above, and I simply say it again; close your eyes. Insisting on my order. With some hesitance they all do as I've asked. Murasakibara is the closest to me, might as well start with him. I face up towards him but I can't reach. I stand up on my toes, I still can't reach him. I wiggle my arms free from his and use them to pull his head down. Finally able to reach, I give him a quick kiss. Nothing like the ones from before, a few seconds of lips brushing against each other before I step away from him. Next is Kise, I do the same for him, then for Aomine, Midorima and Akashi. Each kiss only lasts seconds but that's enough for me to enjoy it, revelling in the sensation. I take a step back from all of them and tell them they can open their eyes again.  
"What was that Kurokochi? Why did you kiss me all of a sudden?" Kise asks me, not knowing that the statement would start another argument. Each of them yell that they were the one I kissed, and then realising I kissed all of them; they started arguing over who gave me the best kiss instead. I really can't leave them alone for a minute without them devolving into argument can I? Oh well, I guess it can be cute at times like this.   
"There was a reason for that, if you'd like to listen to me." I wait for the noise to die down and try to get our conversation back on track.  
"I'll ask each of you. Akashi, how was that?"   
"Why are you even asking? It felt amazing. I was kissing you, that's just obvious."  
"Ok then, Aomine, what about you?" I continue on, asking the same of everyone. They all have similar answers, either about how sweet I was, or that it fit the requirements of a good kiss, but it's not like he liked it or anything, it only felt a little bit good. That last one came from Midorima. When they've all answered me I take a deep breath and talk.  
"Before just now all of you have kissed me. On the lips that is, and last time I checked I don't have five lips, it's just the one. Akashi kun, you were saying that touching me somewhere someone has already touched means it's not special. Midorima and Aomine, you were going on about how my love couldn't be shared. But I love each of you enough to kiss you, and you all love me enough to like that kiss no matter who else I've done the same thing with. Doesn't this prove to you that me picking you all isn't a bad thing?" I can tell that I've won before I even start talking. They can't refute this. They can go on about how my love can't be shared and all and say that they're against it, but when it comes down to it, they can’t ignore their own feelings.   
"But, I, like I was saying… No, I can't do this. I guess you're right, I can't really ignore it when you do something like that." Midorima tries his hardest to find a hole in my argument, to find a reason why my idea won't work. But he can’t. I don't blame him for trying to tear down my idea, I do realise how unorthodox it is. It is far from the norm when it comes to relationships. But I'm just glad that he understands that even if it wouldn't be the right thing in 9 out of ten situations, this is the one time where it is right.  
"I really am shocked that I'm about to say this. I thought sharing you was out of the question, that I needed you to myself. But if you're that insistent, then I can't argue with you. I love you so much Tetsuya, if I can be with you, no matter what, I will be." I can't stop my smile when Akashi joins Midorima and tells me that he will agree to share me. It makes me so happy, I've finally convinced him! That means there's only one to go now. I look to Aomine with anticipation.   
"Well Aominechi, everyone else is on Kurokochi's side, are you gonna join us?" Kise asks him, egging him on and trying to get him to say those all important words; I agree with you. I'll share you.  
"Geez, even if I did say no after all this you'd all hate me for it. Yeah, I'll go along with your idea. That doesn't mean I like it all that much, but I love Tetsu too much to give him up. And you proved that you can love us all, I choose to believe in that." Aomine brings his fist up as he finishes talking. I bring my fist up and hold it to his, both of us smiling like we would during a game. The feel of his fist on mine, like we do so often, it's comforting.   
"So, everyone is ok with sharing Kuro chin. Does that mean he's officially our boyfriend now?" Murasakibara asks the question everyone else has probably been wanting to, and everyone looks at me for an answer.  
"Well Tetsuya, are we?" Akashi questions me, even though they all know the answer. It makes it feel so much more official when the actual word is used though, boyfriend. I sound it out in my head. Boyfriends. Yeah, that one definitely has a nicer ring to it.  
"Akashi kun, Murasakibara kun, Aomine kun, Midorima kun, Kise kun, nothing makes me happier than being able to say that yes, I am your boyfriend, and you're all mine!" They all rush in as I finish, I almost fall over from the force of them all hugging me at the same time. I wrap my arms around them all in earnest, burying my head into someone's; I think it’s Aomine's, chest. I don't know how long we stay like this, simply wrapped up in each other and feeling the warmth of everyone around us. But after a while my friends, no, my boyfriends let me go, and we all start to walk home. I reach down to grab someone's hand as we walk, and within a second Akashi is holding my left hand and Aomine is holding my right.   
"Hey! How come you get to hold his hand and I don't?" Kise kun starts up, jealous of Akashi and Aomine. His remark causes Murasakibara and Midorima to say the same thing, then everyone starts talking about making a schedule for things like who gets to hold my hand, when each of them gets to plan dates. Within minutes I am the only one silent, with five voices all yelling at the same time around me. I wonder if this counts as the first fight of our relationship? Oh well, I guess it's best for them to get this out of their systems now. I let them continue on until they run out of things to yell about, slowly returning to silence. It's not an awkward silence though, it's peaceful. Right now words aren't important, all I care about is the fact that I'm this close to all the people I love, and I'm sure that they're thinking the same thing. When we reach everyone's houses I make sure no one leaves within a quick goodbye kiss and a promise to see each other at school the next day for practice in the morning. As I lie in bed about to go to sleep I think about everything that happened today. It doesn't feel like it's only been a day, it feels like weeks, or even months has gone by. I still can't quite believe that I have five boyfriends, something like that just seems to take a while to sink in I guess. I go back to where this afternoon started; during a seemingly normal afternoon of basketball practice, something I do every day. But today's practice was special, the most special day of my life even. I wonder, with everything that stemmed from todays practice, what will happen tomorrow? I don't manage to sleep for hours, too busy thinking about Aomine, Akashi, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara. Too busy thinking about everything with a smile that just won't go away plastered on my face. Even when I do sleep, I dream about them. Dream about my boyfriends, and the future we're about to step into together. It makes me nothing but happy.


	12. Extra chapter! Date at the bowling alley

I begrudgingly check the time of my phone one last time, to confirm that what I saw was correct.  
[7:00am]  
I guess I wasn’t seeing things after all.  
“Kise, we weren’t meant to meet up until 12o’clock, why are you calling me saying you’re outside my house at 7 in the morning?!” I berate into the phone, still half asleep. It’s not like I’m actually angry at him, I love him too much to be that harsh, but I am most definitely not a morning person and am most definitely at least a little bit annoyed.   
“I’m sorry Kurokochi, I was so excited for our date today that I wanted to come early! But then I thought: ‘What if the others think the same thing? What if they get here before me? So I kind of ended up coming earlier than I had planned, and I left this out before but everyone else might have done the same thing.” …They didn’t. I think to myself. They didn’t all show up this early. I sit up and get out of bed, walking to my window and opening the blinds. Sure enough, five sheepish faces greet me from below, the kind of faces that say: ‘Sorry we’re here, but would you let us in anyway?’ I bring the phone back to my ear and speak into it.  
“Fine, I’ll throw a key down, you guys can come straight up to my room.” I tell them, lighting up their faces. They’re probably happy that I would so easily let them into my room, but the real reason behind it is that I just want to go back to my bed.  
…  
“Kurokochi, Kurokochiii?” I hear a faint sound but choose to ignore it.  
“Oi Tetsu, don’t tell me you already went back to sleep?” This time it’s a different, more demanding voice, but I still ignore it, desperate for my sleep. Just as I think I have avoided the attempts to wake me, I feel hands clasp onto my shoulders, shaking me almost violently.  
“Kuro chin, wake up already!” Murasakibara yells out, instantly waking me.  
“Ok, I’m awake now! You can stop shaking me.” I yell back at him, maybe a bit harsher than necessary. Murasakibara lets go of me, a slightly sad look on his face.   
“Sorry Kuro chin.” He apologises, making me feel bad for snapping at him.   
“It’s ok Murasakibara, I shouldn’t have gotten mad over something so little anyway. As long as I’m up now I might as well get you all something to drink. Is green tea ok?” I ask them, trying to be a good host. They all reply that it’s fine, and Akashi offers to go downstairs and help me bring everyone’s share up.   
“Sorry again for waking you up so early, but you know that I couldn’t allow any of the others to arrive before me, I am absolute after all.” Akashi says to me as we pour out the tea. I simply nod, never really knowing what to say when he spouts off lines like that. Just as I am about to head back up to the room, drinks in hands, I feel a tug on my shift, turning around to see Akashi holding me back.  
“As long as we’re alone down here for now, don’t you want to do something together, Tetsuya?” Akashi questions me, and before I have time to answer he spins m around and pulls me closer, bringing his lips to mine. I very almost drop the tea in my hands, thanks to the sudden motion. His lips brush against mine with a sense of urgency, desperate to make the most of this time while we’re away from everyone else. At first I feel like I have to stop him, knowing that if we stay here too long everyone will get suspicious as to why we’re taking so long. I know that this isn’t the time for this, not when we’re meant to be on a group date, but those thoughts leave me mind when Akashi slips his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss. I forget my resistance and put everything I have into the feeling of my captain’s lips moving against my own. I instantly reach forward and wrap my arms around my boyfriend, feeling the contours of my back beneath my fingers. The cups of tea fall crashing to the ground, but by this point I have forgotten entirely about their existence, too focused on the boy in front of me to care. Akashi slowly walks forward, pushing me until I back up into the kitchen wall, nowhere else to go. His hands slam on to the wall on either side of me as if trapping me where I stand, but we both know that I have no desire to run. I hear the faint sound of footsteps and am brought back to reality for a moment. I open my mouth to tell Akashi that someone is coming, but all that comes out is a guttural moan as he starts to gently bite down on my bottom lip, all the while his tongue still ravishing the inside of my mouth. My hands clutch the muscles on his back even tighter, so much so that red marks start to appear. My eyes are closed in a state of bliss, but I open them for a moment so that I can see the look on Akashi’s face, wanting to see someone who calls themselves ‘absolute’ with such an erotic facial expression. I do see Akashi’s blushing face, eyes closed in ecstasy just as mine were, supple lips dancing with my own, but I also see Midorima standing behind him at the foot of the staircase. His face is also coloured red with blush, but I have a feeling that’s not a good sign. He takes a deep breath in before starting to yell at the two of us.  
“Well EXCUSE ME for interrupting, but I was under the impression that it didn’t take 10 minutes just to get a few cups of tea! I guess to you two ‘tea’ and ‘make-out session’ mean the same thing?!” He screams at us in annoyance, his words dripping with sarcasm. It is easy to tell that our actions have put Midorima- who gets easily embarrassed when it comes to anything romantic- in an awkward situation. Especially since in any normal relationship, him seeing me kissing another boy would be labelled as cheating. But since a certain life-changing day a couple weeks ago, my dating situation have become anything but normal. I am about to apologise to Midorima- not for kissing Akashi- but for doing it at such an inappropriate time, when the boy still in my arms starts to do so for me.  
“I realise that it may have been underhanded of me to take advantage of this time that I have alone with Tetsuya, especially since we are on a group date today. However, just as much as he is yours, Tetsuya is mine, so I see nothing wrong with kissing him if I feel the urge.” Akashi states in a matter-of-fact tone, to my surprise. I would have expected him to say something more like: ‘Tetsuya is mine, if you think you can interrupt us then you need to learn your place.’ Or at least something with the same menacing tone. I guess he really has matured- at least somewhat- in the last few weeks. Despite his attempt at being polite, Akashi’s ‘apology’-if it can even be called that- is not enough to quell Midorima’s rage.   
“I can think of plenty of reasons why it’s wrong for you to go behind our backs to make with Kuroko, especially when you’re lying about it!” Midorima retorts back, not intimidated by Akashi, but to be honest, with how volatile Akashi is, I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing. Akashi, being the slight psychopath that he is, takes his hands away from the wall and walks over to Midorima, reaching up to touch his shoulder and bringing the taller man falling to the floor in an instant.  
“Know your place Shintaro, I may be sharing Tetsuya with you, but I am still your captain, still your superior.” By this point Midorima is fuming with anger, and despite being pushed down by a psychotic man with an even more psychotic look on his face, he is already rising back to his feet; about to yell something back to his captain. I knew Akashi was acting uncharacteristically nice and not-possesive just earlier, but I guess Midorima must have pushed him over the limit of his patience with his last comment.   
“How dare you! If anyone needs to know their place it’s you! I’ll remind you since you seem to have forgotten; Kuroko isn’t your plaything. He’s your, mine, and everyone in the room above us’ boyfriend. You don’t have any more claim to him than the rest of us do.” Midorima says right back to Akashi, refusing to lose. I can tell that Akashi is about to say something back, and I’m afraid that he will do something extreme that he’ll regret later. Before he can, I walk forward and step in-between the two, speaking out.  
“I’m sorry Midorima, this wasn’t the right to do something like that. And Akashi, I know that I didn’t try to stop you, so it’s my fault as well, but Midorima is right to be mad at us. I know you wouldn’t like it if I snuck around and did things with him behind your back.” I tell them both, knowing full well that I share in the blame. It is obvious that there are still things the pair would like to say to each other, but they stop themselves from doing so for my sake. Both of them turn to me and give apologies for getting into a fight, but refuse to say sorry to each-other. I don’t try to make them though, I know from experience that this is the best I am getting.  
“Why don’t we clean up all the tea I dropped- sorry about that by the way- and head back up to my room, I’m sure everyone else is wondering why we’re taking so long.” I continue, diffusing the tension in the air. They both agree to help me, and within a few minutes we’ve cleaned up, refilled the cups I spilled and are walking back upstairs.  
“Geez, what took you guys so long? Kise wouldn’t stop talking the whole time you were gone.” Aomine complains as we walk through the doorway, leading to a shriek from the aforementioned Kise. I sit down with everyone while Akashi and Midorima do the same. The five of them start to talk to me excitedly to me about the plan for our date today, managing to not fight not among themselves while they do. Apparently we were meant to go out for lunch at 12 before going bowling, but I offer to simply make some food at home, since they’re all here already. Everyone agrees that it’s a good idea, but insist on helping me do the cooking.   
“We’ve still got hours before lunchtime though, we could just cook up some breakfast and go to bowling early.” I suggest, again gaining everyone's approval. Everyone heads down to the kitchen and helps in their own ways. Murasakibara raids my fridge until he finds some sweets to eat, Kise tries to help until Aomine makes him leave so he’ll stop breaking plates. Aomine helps with some of the simpler tasks, while Akashi and Midorima take care of the majority of the actual work; being the only ones in the room who can actually cook well. I decide to help Aomine in his simpler tasks, not too talented at cooking myself. Only a few arguments break out, mostly Kise complaining about being sent away from the kitchen. After a while we all finish, bring the food to my dining room table and start to eat. Thankfully, all our conversations are pleasant. We all talk about what kind of dates we’ve been having over the last few weeks, and instead of arguing about it as I would have expected them to, they talk in a civil manner. It may be presumptuous for me to assume this, but it seems to me that they’re all so eager to make me happy that they want all the information they can get on what I liked on dates with one of them.  People say it all the time, but now I really do agree that eating with people you love as opposed to eating alone makes the food taste much better. As we’re all still talking I feel a light touch on my hand under the table. I look over and notice Kise smiling next to me, motioning down. I lace my fingers through his and smile back, gripping his hand. When we’ve all finished eating I start to stand to clean to up, but everyone tells me to sit back down immediately. Murasakibara surprisingly offers to help, along with Midorima and Akashi. I sit back down and regrip Kise’s hand, while Aomine moves closer to me and holds to other one. It’s funny how such a simple thing can make me so happy.  
“I know those pyjamas must be comfortable, but did you want to get changed before we head out?” Midorima calls out to me over his shoulder, making me remember that I still haven’t gotten changed, or even brushed my hair since I woke up. I blush in embarrassment for a moment before standing up abruptly, earning some laughs from my boyfriends.   
“Don’t worry Tetsu, we love you even with your terrible bedhead.” Aomine teases me jokingly, but I still feel a little embarrassed over my dishevelled appearance. I tell everyone that I'll go up and get changed, deny Murasakibara's request to come and watch, and walk upstairs. I have been dating everyone for few weeks now, but I still like to look my best in front of them, so I chose a nice pair of jeans and a smart-casual button up top to impress them. When I walk down they're all waiting by the door ready to go, and Aomine wolf whistles in my direction as I approach.  
"Don’t you think that's a little weird Aomine?" I ask him, still kind of embarrassed from before, but he just puts a hand on my head, ruffles my hair and says that he can't resist doing it when I look so sexy. I blush a darker shade of red, but I do appreciate the compliment, knowing my effort to look good wasn't for nothing. When we start walking, I am between Akashi and a blushing Midorima. We hold hands as we walk, and it makes me just as happy as it with earlier today with Kise and Aomine. The distance is further than I had anticipated though, and after 20 minutes of walking in the hot morning sun I am exhausted.  
"Is the place much further?" I pant out, wanting to sit down in an air-conditioned building as soon as I can.  
"It's another 10 minutes or so from here. I was planning on taking one of my family's cars, but they're all being used until 11." Akashi tells me apologetically. 10 minutes. I really wish it was shorter, but I guess I'll just have to put up with it.  
"Are you ok Kuro chin? You don't have much stamina usually, is the heat making you even more tired?" A worried expression plays over Murasakibara's face as he asks me. Everyone else seems to be fine with both the weather and the distance, which makes me feel pretty pathetic in comparison.   
"It is pretty hot, but I'll be ok." I tell him, putting on a brave façade. I smile up at him, trying to convince him that I am fine.  
"You don't have to put on a brave face Kuro chin, just let me help you." Murasakibara offers as his arms come towards me, grabbing my waist and pulling me up as if I weighed nothing.  
"M-murasakibara, what are you doing?" I stutter out, knowing full-well that Murasakibara would never put me in any danger, but still irrationally afraid of suddenly being pulled up so high. My giant boyfriend lifts me over his head and onto his back, which is actually really comfortable. I remember being told that Murasakibara gave me a piggy back during our first date. I say that I remember being told about it because I wasn't actually conscious while it happened, having passed out after the shock of receiving 5 confessions of love at once.   
"You're still as light as the last time I did this Kuro chin, you really should eat more!" Murasakibara says out of worry for me, still having trouble with the fact that eating like he does is not the normal way.   
"Ok, ok. I'll eat more as long as you make it for me Murasakibara." I laugh back, choosing to play along with him.   
"I can make you better food than Murasakibarachi can!"  
"Oh please, all you can do in the break things. I would be a much better cook for Kuroko."   
"You both seem to be forgetting that I can afford to buy ingredients of much higher quality than either of you. Cooking for Tetsuya should be left to me."  
"Cost isn't everything Akashi, I'm sure I can make something better for Tetsu and spend way less than you." Everyone around me bickers about something so trivial, but at least they're not at the point of yelling yet. I tune out all the noise and simply enjoy being so close to Murasakibara. I look over the top of his head, seeing the world from a whole new- over 2 metre tall- angle. It feels strange to look down on all the people I'm usually staring up at. Akashi is only a little bit taller than me, but he is taller nonetheless. While it is weird, it is also sort of satisfying them all like this. It makes me feel so tall, so cool. When I have had enough of the view though, I let my head rest in between my boyfriends shoulder and his head, right on his neck. With his arms holding me tight, and my own wrapped around his neck, I feel so safe. Like no matter what happens to me, this person with such a large, warm back will protect me. The thought makes me giggle in happiness, and I start to plant little kisses onto Murasakibara's neck. I'm not quite sure why, maybe it's my way of saying thank you for being there for me. Maybe it's just because I want to kiss him, before after all; do I really need more of a reason? As Murasakibara notices my actions, his head turns to face me and I can tell that he is about to ask me what I am doing. Before he can, I lift my head up and whisper into his ear.  
"Shhh, if everyone notices they'll make me stop." I whisper in my best attempt at a seductive voice. Murasakibara thinks for a second, nods his head, and starts giggling just like I did before. I can only imagine what he's thinking. Probably something along the lines of; 'Kuro chin wants to keep this a secret! I won't tell anyone! Even if Aka chin threatens me with scissors. I'll keep his secret and make Kuro chin super proud of me!' Murasakibara's innocence might not suit his giant stature, but I really couldn't imagine him being any other way.  
"What are you laughing about back there Murasakibara?" Aomine asks in curiosity, but the boy being questioned just gives a defiant pout and answers;  
"I'm just happy that I got to piggy-back Kuro chin and you didn't, stupid Mine chin." His response is totally childish, but I still find it adorable. Aomine drops the subject and starts talking to Kise about something else, all the while, I am still plastering kisses all over the back of Murasakibara's neck, sometimes even leaning forward and kissing up his jaw when nobody is looking. His skin tastes sweet, but I know from experience that it's nothing compared to the taste of his lips. I decide, very spontaneously, to capture his lips by the time we have reached the bowling centre.   
"Murasakibara, my legs are kinda tired from holding on to you. Can you carry me princess style instead?" I ask him, loud enough for everyone to hear.  
"Sure thing!" Murasakibara beams back enthusiastically and while everyone else seems slightly annoyed, they don't say anything about it. I am lifted up and laid to rest in my boyfriends arms. He holds me with such a gentle grip, but his strong arms make me know that I am still safe with him. I snuggle up to his chest, letting my head rest there for a moment before going on to the next stage of my plan. I listen to the sound of his heart-beat, skipping faster than usual, no doubt because of me. The sound calms me down, and lets me think more rationally on what to do next. I had been planning on just surprising Murasakibara by kissing him, but if I did that, everyone would get jealous and pull us off each-other. I can't really blame them too much though, we've only been going out for a few weeks, they're bound to get jealous if I do something so bold right in front of them. So, instead of just doing what I feel like, I take their feelings into consideration and tell them of my plan, wanting to gain their approval before putting it into action.  
"Hey guys, would you be mad if I kissed Murasakibara right now?" As I ask them, every one of them stops in their tracks.   
"Did I hear that right Tetsuya? Do you really think I wouldn't be annoyed if you kissed him right now?" Akashi stares me down, and to be honest I am a tiny bit scared, but I don't let it show.  
"Yes, that's what I said. We're on a date, why can't I?" I stand up for myself, and Akashi seems to be taken back by my assertiveness.   
"Even if we don't like it, if he asks us our permission like that, we can't really say no." Midorima speaks up, and I'm pleasantly surprised that he's agreeing with me. The rest of them argue the point a little further, but in the end they all end up begrudgingly agreeing with Midorima's point.   
"Just don't make us watch for gods sake." Akashi gives us a look of annoyance as he speaks, but all I care about is the fact that he gave us his approval.  
"Thanks everyone! If you wanna go ahead we'll catch up in a little bit." They all start to walk away from the two of us, and while Kise does keep looking back over his shoulder, he stops when Aomine hits him and tells him to hurry up.   
"Ne Kuro chin, can I tell you something before you kiss me?" Murasakibara speaks up, and having no reason to reject his request, I tell him to say what's on his mind. I do, however, find myself wondering what it could be that he wants to tell me, what's so important that he thinks it has to be said right now.  
"I love you! I love you lots Kuro chin, thiiiiiiiis much!" While still keeping hold of me with one arm, Murasakibara stretches his other arm as far as it will go, going through the same motion a child would. And once again, no surprise, I think it's so damn cute, it makes me blush and smile from ear to ear.  
"I love you too Murasakibara, this much!" My smile stays plastered on my face as I reply, my arms stretching as far as they can, but ultimately being unable to match Murasakibara's length. Even so, he understands that if I could reach out further, I would. Without another word I bring my arms up to his neck and my lips up to his. He is as sweet as always, a mixture of sugar and saliva on his lips. I close my eyes , giving up my sight so that I can feel the kiss without any distractions. After weeks of practice I have gotten a lot better at this, and am able to fight Murasakibara's skilled tongue for dominance as we both explore the insides of each-others mouth. Soft whimpers start to fall from Murasakibara's lips, letting me know that my practice has paid off, and that he is enjoying this just as much as I am. His hands have to stay where they are so that I don't fall, but I am free to explore, and I am happy to do so. My fingers snake around his neck, his jaw, until they are gripping and pulling his face as close as possible to my own, one hand on his chin and the other clutching his long, beautiful purple hair desperately. I need him close to me. I need him so close that I can feel the air he breaths, and feel nothing around me but him. I leave one hand in his hair, still using it to keep him right up against my face, but I take my other hand and start exploring lower. I slide it under his shirt, feeling sweat drip off incredibly well defined muscles.  
"No fair, Ku-uugh, Kuro chin." Murasakibara complains, not able to get through the whole sentence without moaning out in pleasure.   
"I want to touch you too." He continues, panting as he does. I guess it was a bit selfish of me to touch his all over but not let him do the same. I break our kiss for a second and take my hand out of his hair, lowering myself down until I am standing on my own feet again.  
"You don't have to carry me now, so you're hands will be free, but how do I reach you?" I ask genuinely, looking up and seeing how far away his lips are now.   
"I'll just go down to you Kuro chin." He starts to bend down as he speaks, sitting on his knees, which makes him just barely shorter than me. I think to myself that we must look like a really unconventional couple, but really, although our height difference does present difficulties, it just ends up forcing us to be more creative. And creative is fun. I grab onto his hair again and pull him towards me, while the other hand gets back to what it was doing before. At the same time, Murasakibara's fingers race across my chest, making me feel a little embarrassed. Compared to his amazing, rock-hard abs, I have little to offer. But I know that he loves me regardless of how many muscles I have. Trivial worries like that leave my mind when one of his fingers brushes up against my nipple, sending a tingling sensation throughout my body.  
"Do that again Murasa-aaah." I give up on his ridiculously long name halfway through as he complies with my request, pinching my nipples and making me experience this new pleasure for the first time. Thoughts in the back of my head nag at me, telling me that we've gone far enough, that we need to catch up to the group, but I ignore them, wanting just a few more seconds before I stop all of this. My kiss becomes viscous, ravaging Murasakibara's lips like a wild animal, letting his passion heat me up. My hands runs all over him before they arrive back at his face, and I have to force myself to part with him, knowing that I have to end this at some point. I plant one last, gentle kiss onto his cheek before letting go. As soon as I am not kissing him I am bent over, hands on my knees panting away my exhaustion. I never realised how much I was depriving myself of oxygen until I let his lips go. Murasakibara does the same, until a minute or so later, when he picks me up and starts walking again, knowing that I stopped the kiss because we have to get back to the group.   
"That was definitely one of the best kisses I've ever had." I look up into my boyfriends face as I praise him, pants of exhaustion still labouring my breath.   
"Every time I kiss you is my new favourite time, Kuro chin." His words make me blush, but they also make me quite happy. I rest my head in his arms and close my eyes, letting myself relax for the rest of the walk. When we get to the bowling centre we find everyone else already inside. Everyone but Akashi struggling to find a pair of bowling shoes big enough. I walk up to the counter and- after a bit of struggle to make the worker notice me- I get given a pair my size fairly easily, but Murasakibara has a lot more trouble. The giant forces the workers to search high and low before they are able to find his size. When we finally get to our lane, we are struck with another problem; the names that appear on the score-board can only be maximum five letters long. We have to be a bit creative, using a mixture of first & last names, even nicknames , but in the end we are able to get everyone's name short enough, making the scoreboard read:  
1: Tetsu.  
2: Daiki.  
3: Kise.  
4: Aka.  
5: Mu-kun.  
6: Mido  
"Ok then, Tetsu, you're up first. Show us what you've got." Aomine encourages with a grin on his face. I really don't want to disappoint him, but as soon as I pick up a ball, I realise how heavy it is, so much heavier than a basketball. I manage to lug the ball to the lane, but I can barely lift it up enough to swing my arm. It ends up falling from my hands, and slowly making its way down the lane before falling into the gutter. I turn back to my boyfriends completely embarrassed.  
"I guess I'm not so good at bowling hey?" I scratch my head as some sort of nervous reaction as I face everyone, but I am met with nothing but kind encouragement.   
"Your strength isn't physical like the rest of us Tetsuya, but there's nothing wrong with that. We all respect you for your other talents." Akashi comforts me and I really do appreciate it. When my ball pops up in the ball return I throw it down the lane again, but with about as much success as my first attempt.  
"Just watch me go Tetsu, I'm sure you can pick up some pointers." Aomine says with a smug grin, confident that he'll make a good shot. For other people, acting this smug would seem cocky or overconfident, but it's sort of hard to say the same about Aomine. He may act totally cocky, but he's got the skill to back his words up. As if reading my mind, Aomine throws a strike on his first try proving my thoughts correct.  
"See? You just need to do it like that." Aomine advises me as he walks up, I smile back at him as I respond.  
"You know full well that it's not that easy for someone to copy you like that Aomine." This is just like when he tried to teach me to shoot during practice once before, haphazardly tossing a ball into the hoop and expecting me to imitate his form. I can't help but smile at the memory, but it feels kind of weird when I remember that we weren't even going out then. I guess me dating everyone has become so normal that it's hard to remember a time when we weren't.  
"Kurokochi might not be able to copy you, but I'm sure I can." Kise laughs as he walks up to pick up his ball, showing just as much confidence as Aomine did. Unfortunately, after all his bragging, he throws 2 gutter balls, just like I did.   
"What was that about copying me Kise? Are you sure you don't need us to put the bumpers up?" Aomine smirks as he teases the blonde, sending him into a rage.  
"I was just distracted, that's all! I'll do way better than you next time, just wait!" He retorts in a high-pitched voice, waving his arms all over the place as he does so. While he is pulling this tantrum of sorts, Akashi gets up and bowls, ignoring the wailing teenager and getting a strike.   
"As I expected, perfect of course." Our captain boasts in his usual manner. I simply smile back at him, just like I did when he said something similar this morning. When it is Murasakibara's turn to go, he has a problem opposite to mine; trying to find a ball big enough for his overly large hands.   
"Kuro chiiiinn, they're all too little." He whines to me like a 5 year old. If I didn't love him I would probably find it annoying, but I do love him, and I do love the way he says my name like that, extending the sound.   
"Why don't you try this one? It looks a little bigger than the one you're holding." I suggest, and the giant takes the ball from my hands with a thank you. While I was barely able to hold it, he lifts it with ease.  
"Here I go!" He half walks, half runs to the lane, and throws the ball with incredible power, but not so good aim. Five out of ten pins fall to the ground, two of which break in half from the impact.  
"…Oops." Murasakibara utters the single word of apology, before taking a second, considerably slower shot, knocking three more pins down.   
"We should probably get one of the workers…" I state the obvious. Akashi walks to the counter and explains the situation, the worker doesn't believe him until he sees the evidence. He cleans it up hastily and brings us two replacements.   
"Please try and throw a bit softer, if, if that's ok with you." The worker asks Murasakibara, having to tilt his head up to look him in the eye. It is painfully obvious how afraid he is, not knowing how much of a gentle giant Murasakibara is.   
"Thank you bowling man!" Murasakibara yells out happily, earing a scared, stuttered 'you're welcome' from the welcome.  
"Now that that's all sorted, let me show you all my skills." Midorima tells us as he walks towards the lane, holding the ball with one hand and pushing his glasses up with the other. He brings his arm above his head, way higher than you're supposed to, and throws the ball with an arc just as high as when he plays basketball.  
"What are you DOING Midorimachi?! Do you want to break the floor as well?" Kise shrieks out in surprise, I don't say anything but I, and everyone around me, are just as shocked.  
"You'll see." He turns around and walks back to us before the ball hits the pins, sure that he will not miss a single one. A few seconds pass before I hear the ball crashing into the pins, knocking every one own.  
"Whether it's basketball or bowling, I never miss." He says as if 'I never miss' was his catchphrase. To be honest, his confidence and complacency about never missing a shot is super attractive to me. I feel like everyone is trying so hard to win in order to impress me, and that thought gives me an idea. If they're going to compete anyway, I might as well make it interesting.  
"Do any of you want to add a reward for whoever wins? Because I've got an idea." I suggest to the group, grabbing everyone's attention.   
"Oh? What did you have in mind Tetsu?""Yes, why don't you tell me what you'll give me when I win Tetsuya?""I'm sure you just heard me say that I never miss, so I don't know how you think you could beat me at this Akashi."  
"I won't lose either! One more try and I'm sure I'll be able to copy Aominechi!"  
"You're already way behind Kise chin! There's no way you can catch up to the rest of us."   
"You didn't even get a strike Murasakibara! You're behind too."  
…Is it odd that these sound of bickering are so normal, such an everyday occurrence for me? At least having these people argue so often has taught me how to stop said arguments instantly. Before anyone can say anything else, I turn to Midorima, the closest to me, and plant a quick kiss on his lips. Just doing that is enough to silence everyone, but I know it would be unfair to leave it at that, so I walk up to each of them and give them the same treatment. A quick taste of my lips, a horribly tempting tease.  
"If you want a better kiss than that, you'd better win." I coax them , winking seductively as I do. I can tell the moment that everyone comprehends what I have said. Akashi and Aomine both smirk confidently, Kise and Murasakibara start smiling from ear to ear, and Midorima blushes a deep shade of red before making a weird mix between a smirk and a smile.   
"I'll win! I'm gonna win Kuro chin!" Murasakibara yells out the first thing that comes to his mind, not even considering his opponents before making his proclamation.  
"What are you on about Murasakibara? You're already behind the rest of us, except for Kise of course, we won't let you pass us without one hell of a fight." Aomine answers right back with fighting words, and I feel the need to interrupt before everyone else decides to join in as well.   
"But! Before any of you wins, I have a favour to ask. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me not make a fool out of myself again." I ask them for their help, knowing that no matter how much I try by myself, I will not get any better. I'm sure that with the help of the prodigies I love though, that I will improve, at least a little.   
"Sure thing Tetsu, I'll be up right after you so why don't I help you out?" My fellow blue-haired teammate offers, and I am glad to accept his help. I can't say the same for the rest of the team, all complaining that they wanted to help.  
"Don't worry you guys. I'm sure I won't get so good after having Aomine teach me what he can that I won't need any hep from the rest of you. " I reassure them before picking up my ball, once again surprising myself with its weight. Before I drop it though, a pair of tanned hands are holding onto mine, sharing the weight.  
"Thanks Aomine."  
"Don't mention it." He replies so nonchalantly, as if helping me was the most natural thing to do. It makes me feel so happy, that I am that special to him.   
"Now, I'll hold most of the weight, so I want you to focus on pulling your arm back just past your waist for now. Oh, and I want you to bend your arm a little while you do it as well, you'll be too stiff if you keep your arm entirely straight." He instructs me in a gentle voice, so different from his usual rough tone. I do as he asks, to some extent. With his help I am able to completely forget about how heavy the ball is, but I find it impossible to ignore the presence of his hands touching me. It's impossible for me to focus solely on raising the ball like he told me to. I can't ignore the sensations running through my body, the feeling of my skin lighting up wherever he touches me. Just like when Murasakibara carried me before, I feel blissfully safe and so comfortable here in Aomine's arms. As if this, right here, is where I belong. One of his hands still remains on the ball, but the other makes its way down to my waist. It is clear that he is doing it so that he can adjust my form, or something like that, but the only thoughts that come to my head are entirely indecent, forgetting momentarily why this is happening in the first place.  
"Tetsu? Tetsu, are you even listening to me?" Aomine's voice pulls me from my trance. I look up at him with a slight blush as I hurriedly give a response.  
"Ah, sorry Aomine. I was just a little distracted." I feign innocence, not wanting to admit the real reason behind my 'distraction.' The moment I see the smirk on Aomine's face though, I realise that he is fully aware of my situation.  
"I know you love it when I touch you like this…" He teases me, both of his hands now trailing over my waist, and one slipping underneath my shirt. Oh god, he can be such a damn sadist sometimes.  
"…But you did want me to teach you how to bowl, right?" He continues, both with his words and his exploration of my body. What he's saying and what he's doing couldn't be more contradictory, and it makes it worse when he whispers it right into my ear, so close that I can feel his breath on the side of my face. I want to be annoyed. I want to tell him to stop fooling around, but I just can't. I can't bear to make him stop when he's making me feel this good.  
"Please, just teach-uuugh." I get halfway through my plea before he forces me to stop, making me moan. The hand that had gone under my shirt is now pinching my nipple, like Murasakibara did to me when we kissed. He only does it gently, but it's still enough to stop my resistance completely. If I had known asking for help would have ended this way, I wonder if I still would have done it? I think I would have in all honesty. I haven’t gotten any better at bowling, but right now, in this moment with Aomine, I really couldn't care less. I decide that just being touched by my boyfriend is not enough, and I wrap my hands around his neck, pulling his head down so that I can reach it. As soon as it is close enough I bring my lips to his and kiss him, and no, I don't start out gentle. My kiss is rough, passionate, as I am fully aware that I have a limited amount of time before the four people behind us start protesting and yelling. Now that his head is close enough, I take my hands away and reach behind me until I can feel him. Until I feel his hard muscles, his hot skin. It is somewhat of an awkward position, I have to arch my neck just so that we can kiss, but it's not uncomfortable, because Aomine's arms are holding me tight, keeping my steady. His lips move around my own in a frenzied state, leaving tiny little bite marks as he starts to use his teeth as well. I won't be outdone. I take my mouth away from his and start to kiss down his jaw, along his shoulder, actually making him- the dominant, cocky Aomine- moan involuntarily. The sounds are music to my ears, it feels unexpectedly good to know that tiny little me is the one controlling Aomine, someone far taller than I am.  
"Oooi! What are you two doing witho-" I hear Kise start to yell, all too abruptly ending the kiss I was so enjoying. Before he can finish though, Aomine is yelling right back in annoyance.  
"Geez Kise, do you really have to stop us right when we're getting to the good part? Have some tact for gods sake!" He scolds the blonde, angry at him for interrupting our fun. And while I knew someone would stop us eventually, I am still sad that they did.  
"Yes, he had to stop you Aomine, because it's hardly fair of you to take advantage of Kuroko like that." Midorima rebuts, for possibly the first time ever, supporting Kise. I guess they couldn't really see me in front of Aomine well enough to realise that while Aomine did start teasing me first, I was really the one who made him do it. My lewd reactions to his innocent touch started it all.  
"Mido chin is right! How could you just start kissing him right in front of us?"  
"I'll remind you that you did almost the same thing earlier Atsushi."  
"Oh, and sneaking around and doing it behind our backs is clearly so much better, right Akashi?" Midorima sarcastically retorts, and just as I am afraid that Akashi and Midorima will start arguing about what happened this morning again, Kise speaks up.  
"No, you didn’t even let me finish! I wanted to ask what you two were doing without me." Kise finishes his sentence from before, leaving me confused.  
"Without you? What do you mean Kise?" I ask him, but the only verbal answer I get is simply; 'I mean, this!; While Aomine and I are standing still and trying to figure out what the blonde meant, Kise is running at us, launching himself into our arms with enough force to knock us down onto the lane. Aomine puts his arms around me and protects me from the fall, but I hear him grunt in pain from the impact.  
"What the hell are you doing Ki-" Aomine starts out, but doesn't get the chance to finish. Before he can, to everyone's surprise, definitely including my own, Kise is kissing him. I can hardly believe my eyes. Kise, lips all over the ace's, Aomine, too surprised to do anything about it. While I watch, after the initial shock wears off, I find myself not wanting to stop them, but to join them.   
"Seriously, get off me Kise!" Aomine finally finds his voice, pushing the blonde off him as he pants out. He sounds mad, but for some reason, I get the feeling that he's not actually that angry at Kise, that he's more surprised than mad.  
"Awww, but Kurokochi was just about to join in." Kise complains, but Aomine ignores his whines, still wanting an answer from Kise.   
"Don't change the subject! Just tell me what on earth you're doing."  
"Well, you both looked like you were having a great time so I wanted to join in. Don't you remember the first date we all went on with Kurokochi? When I admitted that seeing you two kiss at the dinner table just made me want to kiss both of you?" Kise says all of this as if it is the most normal thing in the world, despite the fact that it is clearly anything but 'normal'. I can tell that Aomine is shocked at Kise's response, and is struggling to find any words. I speak up to help him out.  
"Kise, are you trying to say you love Aomine as well? You can tell me, I have no reason to judge you for it." I ask him in a soft voice, I'm just as surprised as Aomine, but I feel like I have a responsibility to be mature about this.  
"Maybe? I don’t know. I'm still kind of confused, I've loved you for so long, but when you accepted all of our love, and decided to go out with all five of us, I started to think things like that. To wonder why we're all so hostile towards each-other when we're with you. Wondering if I could love more than one person too." When he first started talking about this earlier, Kise was confident and so full of life, but now his speech has slowed down, he is far more nervous. And I don't blame him for it, I had such a hard time coming to terms with so many different things about myself, about my teammates, about love itself. I may have found my answer that day, but Kise is still looking for his. I feel bad for him, I want to take him in my arms, tell him that it'll all be ok. But I know that right now, it is not my place to do so. Aomine is the one who needs to say something. I expect him to say something thoughtful, whether he is agreeing with Kise's thoughts or denying them. Either way, I expect Aomine to realise the seriousness of the situation and reply in an appropriate manner. Although, what I expect is not what happens.  
"Oh what the hell, why not." Aomine declares, a playful tone lining his words. One of his hands pulls me close, while the other does the same to Kise, and we are all joined together in a sloppy, awkward kiss. I have never done anything like this before, I don't know how it is supposed to work. All I know is that I like it, even if I'm not entirely sure what 'it' is. Kise seems like he's about to say something in surprise, but Aomine takes the initiative and stops the words from seeing the light of day, sealing his lips. Kise is resistant at first, more because of surprise than anything else, but after a few moments his facial expression softens, his body becomes less tense, and he leans into Aomine; enjoying the kiss. While they are doing that, I bring my lips to Kise's jaw, licking his skin to get a taste of him before giving him the same treatment I gave to Aomine before.   
"Uh, Kuro, Ao-" Kise pants out in between kisses.  
"Tetsu, switch with me for a second, I'm sure you're still the one he wants to kiss the most." Aomine brings his lips away from Kise and winks at me, encouraging me. I accept his offer happily, finally getting a taste of Kise's lips. Aomine on the other hand, pushes the top of my shirt down and latches onto my chest with his mouth. Licking and sucking on the sensitive skin, but only leaving marks where the fabric of my shirt will cover. Kise's tongue slips into my mouth while I am preoccupied with Aomine, its surface covered in a mixture of all three of our saliva.   
"God I love you both." I announce to the two boys who are currently all over me, feeling the need to let them know.  
"Me too Kurokochi. Aominechi, do you," Kise takes a break as I reclaim his lips for a moment, "love me as well?" He asks the ace, his nervousness from before lost before this time of heat and passion.  
"Don't make me say it out loud you bastard." Aomine speaks roughly, but there would be no possible way for us to misinterpret the meaning of his words. I tighten my grip on the boys in my arms, willing myself to hold them and never let go. I start to kiss Aomine again, Kise starts to kiss down my jaw, just before our kiss is sadly, cut short.  
"Excuse me!" Akashi screams out, loud enough that all three of us turn our heads instantly. Him, Midorima and Murasakibara are all standing next to a manager from the bowling alley.  
"The manager has been trying to get your attention for a while now if you'd like to stop groping each-other. You do know that you're not meant to walk on the lanes right? Let alone start making out and proclaiming your love on them." I am suddenly hit by a huge wave of embarrassment. I stand up immediately and bow to the man, blush as red as a burning sunset flushing my face. Kise and Aomine quickly stand and bow next to me.  
"I'm so sorry! We got so carried away, I realise that we should not have done that in a public place." I apologise profusely to the manager, who seems to be quite troubled. Just like the worker from before, he is terrified of Murasakibara, and it is clear that three people making such a scene in the middle of his shop is hardly an everyday occurrence. He clears his throat before speaking to us, trying to assume his usual manager persona.  
"I'm glad you understand my problem. This is a family friendly environment, so I would ask that you take any conduct of that extreme outside. I am not here to ask you not to show any affection for each-other, but please keep it to a PG level, and please do not walk onto the lanes. They are quite slippery, and you would make a bad example for the children here to follow. Now, if I've made myself clear, then I am happy to let you get back to your game." The manager holds his own, despite the bizarre position we have placed him in. I thank him for being so understanding, and assure him that we will act in a family friendly manner from now on. Before the group can start stating their various opinions on what just happened, I speak up. Attempting to quell their argument before it begins.  
"I really am sorry for that display. It was inappropriate. That said, Kise, Aomine, I don't regret anything I told you. I hope you feel the same." I ask them, hoping from the bottom of my heart that Aomine's acceptance of Kise was more than just a heat of the moment response.  
"I meant everything I said Kurokochi!""If you want me to be honest then yeah, I meant what I said too. I love Tetsu of course, but even if I find Kise annoying sometimes, his comment that night at dinner stuck with me, I've been thinking about it in the back of my mind ever since." I'm surprised by Aomine's honesty, and it makes me so happy that he had reciprocated Kise's feelings. I don't know exactly when I started rooting for them, but does that really matter? Instead of trying to pinpoint when exactly I wanted Aomine to say that he loved both Kise and I, I feel like my time would be better spent imagining what kind of things the three of us can do together now.  
"Well, I'm so glad you all got that sorted out," Akashi says sarcastically, breaking up the emotional tension, "but we've been here for far too long to have only completed one round of throws. If we never finish the game, I can never win my reward, so if Tetsuya would like to have his turn- with verbal assistance only- that would be lovely." He continues on, and even if I'm kind of annoyed that he ended the moment I was sharing with Kise and Aomine, I have to admit that he is right.   
"I guess we have spent a lot of time here while not actually doing much bowling. I'll take my shot now." I tell him, picking up the still heavy ball and thinking about the advice Aomine gave me. I still get a gutter ball on my first try, but on my second, I knock down a single pin. It's not much , but it's an improvement all the same. The rest of the game goes on without too much of a hitch. By the third round Kise has perfectly copied Aomine's bowling style, and from that point on he doesn't miss a single pin. At one point Aomine tries to stuff up one of Murasakibara's throws, when yelling taunts doesn't work, he tries to push him over, but fails abysmally. Aomine may be quite strong- a result of all his training- but it is far from an easy task to move a giant like Murasakibara. I slowly improve throughout the game, managing to knock down a few more pins each time. No one helps me quite like Aomine did, but they do all help me as much as they can. Giving me tips and the like. I really do appreciate everything they do for me. On my last try, I actually manage to throw a strike. I feel so proud of myself for accomplishing this feat, and when all my boyfriends gather around me; encompassing me in their embrace and telling me how good a job I did, I can tell they're proud of me as well. In the end though, Midorima is the one who comes out on top.  
"What did I tell you? I never miss." The shooter boasts, scoring a perfect game of 300. His face is lit up with a smile, truly happy that he has emerged victorious. Akashi however, sinks to the floor in defeat, a look of utter despair on his face.  
"I can't believe I lost…I'm absolute." He chokes out as if he can't comprehend what is happening to him. I feel the need to comfort him, and sit down beside him, embracing him and placing his head on my chest.  
"Losing sometimes is what it means to be human Akashi. You can't win everything, and you can't be perfect. But you know what? That's ok." I console him, stroking his silky red hair with a rhythmic touch.  
"But I have to be perfect. The expectations placed on me by my father, by the school, by our coach, I need to live up to them. If I can't win everything then I've failed them all." Tears start to form in the corners of his eyes and his body starts to shake. It hurts me to see him like this. So vulnerable, so different from his normal self. I find it hard to believe that the boy crying in my arms is really Akashi. He's so innocent, but so depressed. It's a horrible thing for me to think, seeing as he's in such a bad state right now, but I find it so special that I am able to see him like this. That he is showing me this side of him that he has closed off from the world, that no one else has seen.  
"I don't know much about your father, but I know that all your teachers don't expect so much of you. You're already such a perfect student, I'm sure that they're so happy to have you in their classes, that they couldn't hope for more. Our coach is the same- he expects us to win- but he doesn't expect us to do it alone. He knows we can't be perfect, that’s why we're a team. So that when one of us fails, the rest of us can support them. You don’t have to win every single time, because you've got me, you've got all of us. We'll be there for you when you fail, because you have always done the same. I can’t even remember how many times I've been helped, saved, by you." I confess, everything I say 100% true. Akashi has been such an important person in my life. He realised my full potential, brought me up to the first string and nurtured me into the player I am now. He defended me when others questioned why someone like me was even in the first string. And most of all, he gave me so much love. He's done so much for me, and now I have to return the favour.  
"I love you Akashi, whether you win, lose, no matter what I will still love everything about you." My words bring a smile to his face, but it is obvious that he is not fully back to his normal self just yet. I've always thought Akashi was amazing, and wondered why someone like him would like me, someone far less skilled than himself. I can't deny that he is unbelievably talented prodigy, and I wouldn't want to. But I never realised how much of what he achieves isn't just sheer talent, but hard work as well. I never knew just how much pressure he was under to succeed.  
"Thanks for trying to make me feel better Tetsuya. I love you too, I really do. I know that I'm being irrational, but I just can't help it. All my life I've had to be perfect, I've never lost at anything before today. It's, it's not easy to take in." He admits, putting on a brave face. I know that my words could never solve a problem rooted so deeply inside him, something that he's been struggling with his whole life. But I know that I have at least helped him a little, that my words have comforted him.  
"I'm sorry everyone, I acted in a way so unbefitting of myself. And I ruined your excitement over winning Shintarou. Congratulations, you have bested me. It won't happen again, so you should be proud that you're the only person to have ever beaten Seijuuro Akashi." As he talks, Akashi stands back up and raises his hand so that Midorima can shake it. I get back up as well and watch the scene in front of me, happy that at least for now, Akashi seems ok. Now that I know just how serious this issue is for Akashi, that all his 'I am absolute' comments were because of more than just a superiority complex, I know that I need to do more than just be his boyfriend. I need to help him like he has done for me, I need to ask him every now and then if he's doing ok, if the pressure he is under is getting to him. I need to be there when he needs me. Right now though, he seems to have recovered from his sudden breakdown, and is even congratulating the person who beat him.  
"Thank you Akashi. I'll keep challenging you to Shoji matches like I always do, maybe you'll feel better when you inevitably beat me in those. I'll warn you though, I won't go down without a fight." Midorima says as he shakes Akashi's hand. His way of comforting Akashi is a bit odd, but it is plain to see that the thought is definitely there; that he really does want to make his friend feel better.  
"I'll look forward to it Shintarou. But before that, I believe a certain someone promised the winner a kiss." Akashi teases, winking at me as he says it. I remember the reward I made before and look at Midorima with a mischievous smile on my face.  
"I did say that didn't I? I'd better keep my word then." I purr out, walking up to the new blushing shooter.  
"Wait a second Kurokochi, you promised the manager you wouldn't make another scene. Shouldn't you wait until we're outside?" Kise reminds me, and I'm glad he does. I almost got caught up in the moment and did something I shouldn't have.  
"Yeah! The bowling man from before seemed really troubled so we shouldn't be mean to him again." Murasakibara follows on from Kise, and after that, Aomine speaks up as well.  
"I agree, Midorima won fair and square but I'm sure he an wait for his prize just a little bit longer, isn't that right?" The ace teases his teammate, only serving to deepen the blush on his face.  
"Of course I can! I don't have so little restraint that I make out with Kuroko in a public place like this…" he looks at Aomine and Kise, "or downstairs while we're all waiting for you to come back up…" he stares at Akashi, "or even when we're all meant to be walking together as a group…" he eyes down Murasakibara, "I have far more restraint than any of you." All of Midorima's examples are very obviously aimed at his fellow teammates, but while there is a slight tone of annoyance in his voice, we can all tell that he's just joking around.  
"Sorry Midorima, but you've got to share some of the blame as well. You're one of the five men who took away all my innocence, are you going to take responsibility?" I smirk as I talk, knowing exactly what effect my words will have on him.   
"W-what are you saying Kuroko? What do you mean by 'take responsibility'?" He stutters back, completely flustered. I can't help but laugh at this absolutely adorable side of him.   
"Oh, I think you know what I meant." I say with a wink, letting the sexual innuendo sink in.  
"But that's for another day, I may not be as innocent as I used to be but I'm not quite ready for that just yet. I have no such problem with kissing you though, so the sooner we leave here the better." I admit, calming Midorima down by showing that I was just bluffing, having a bit of a joke. As much as I love all my boyfriends- which is a hell of a lot- I still have some limits with what I'm comfortable with, for the moment anyway. My joke just now is the first time anyone has brought up the topic of sex ever since we started dating. I know it can be a problem for some couples, when someone isn’t ready for it but gets pressured into it anyway. It makes me so happy that the people I'm dating respect my boundaries, and don't think any less of me because of them.  
"Well, if that's what Tetsu wants we'd better get a move on. I'm sure we're all going home different ways so I'll say bye here. Thanks for the awesome date Tetsu, K-kise, and all the rest of you I guess. I'll see you on Monday at school!" Aomine says his goodbyes, picking up his bag and preparing to leave. I thought I would be able to walk home with everyone like normal, but will I not get to after all?  
"Why can't we just walk together like we do nor-" Kise questions the ace but Aomine slaps his hand over the blondes mouth halfway through. He whispers something into his ear, and then does the same to Murasakibara and Akashi. I can't hear what he's saying, but I can guess.  
"Good point Aominechi! I'd better get going too, I'm sure Murasakibarachi and Akashichi need to as well, so why don't you walk Kurokochi home for us Midorimachi?" Kise suggests, leading to similar statements from Akashi and Murasakibara.  
"I have a few errands I need to run before I go home so I won't be able to accompany you, but I trust Shintarou."  
"Me too! I have some sweets to buy, but the shop is pretty far away so it'd be mean to make Kuro chin walk all that way. Have fun with Mido chin!" Everything they same confirms my suspicions- that Aomine wanted to give Midorima and I some time alone together. Geez, for all the fighting they do, when it comes down to it they really are good friends, willing to sacrifice a little if it's for someone else's sake. They all leave with smiles on their faces, and I make sure to tell them I love them one last time before they go.  
"Should we get going as well?" I look up at Midorima and ask, grabbing his hand and slipping my fingers into his as I talk.  
"Yeah, let's head off." He replies, having had some time to calm down. A few weeks ago he never would have imagined that he would be able to confess to me, that he would be too embarrassed to do so. Now, we can walk hand in hand like this, and while he still gets flustered sometimes, he no longer hides his true feelings. He really has made a lot of progress, and even when he does partially relapse into his old habits, it is only when he blushes and stutters in response to talk of kissing or something of the like. Which I can understand, and admittedly; find very cute.  
"Hey Midorima, what did you think of our date today? Did you have a good time?" I make conversation as we walk. As much as I want to hurry up and kiss him, I also want to cherish this time- when it is just the two of us- for a little longer.  
"It was definitely eventful, I'll give you that. But I did enjoy myself, if," He pauses for a second, hesitating slightly before he continues, "If I'm with you then I always enjoy myself." He confesses, getting through the lovey-dovey sentence without stuttering.  
"I like being around you too Midorima. You might seem serious at first, but I know that you're so much more than that. You're fun to listen to whenever you talk so passionately about horoscopes, the way your cheeks flush so easily always brightens my day. And just talking to you like this, it's very, very calming." I respond, taking time to find the right words so that I can get my point across. So that he understands that I enjoy his presence just as much as he enjoys mine.  
"How can you always say those sort of things so easily Kuroko? Just hearing them makes me so happy, but I couldn't imagine saying them without having to force myself to stutter through it."   
"I guess I'm just a pretty straightforward person, I usually just say what I'm thinking. But there's nothing wrong with being a bit more conservative with what you say. I think you're fine just the way you are Midorima." I explain to the boy holding my hand.  
"…Thanks." Is all he says, but the expression on his face speaks louder than his words; the most genuine smile I have seen him make all day and a look of pure happiness shining in his eyes. We walk in a pleasant silence the rest of the way to my house, content simply with being together. I ask Midorima if he wants to come in, but he declines, saying that I must be tired after such a hectic day, and that he doesn't want to bother me any longer. I tell him that he's really not a bother, but he sticks to his earlier point, saying that I need some alone time to relax. When he points it out, I realise that I am feeling kind of tired, probably thanks to being woken up so early. Maybe I'll take a nice long bath, that'd be relaxing. Just as he turns to go though, I grab hold of his shirt and make him stay.   
"You don't have to come inside but just stay here a little longer. I haven't even given you your reward yet." I tell him. I feel like after having such a nice conversation on the way home he has forgotten about my promise of a reward. Even if he has though, I do not intend to let him leave here empty handed. I use the hand holding his shirt to spin him around, bringing him face to face with me. I stand up on my toes and start to kiss him. I am instantly greeted by the familiar feeling of his lips, impossibly soft, and even though he's had some practice over the last few weeks, his lips still feel so innocent, so pure to me. I can tell that he loves the feeling of my lips sliding over his own like this, but he is still learning about the intricacies of kissing. That said, he is far from a bad kisser. He has ben improving ever since our first kiss, learning what he should be doing with his tongue, what kind of role his teeth can play, and what he can do to make me feel good. I bite down- only softly- on his bottom lip, asking for permission to slip my tongue into his mouth. He nods his head and I let my tongue explore- sending it all over the surfaces of his mouth and making him produce all sorts of lewd noises.  
"It's, it's embarrassing when you make me moan like that, what if someone hears?" He worries, still not used to it when the immense pleasure he feels elicits involuntary moans from his throat.   
"I love hearing you make those noises Midorima, so I won't let anyone else here. I'm going to keep them all to myself." I stop kissing him for a moment so that I can reassure him, tell him that yes, it's ok to moan like that- that it's only natural. When I bring my lips back to his he seems to have calmed down, starting to lean into me and fight for dominance against my lips. I give him control of our pace, and let his lips lead mine, welcome the feeling of his tongue when he slides it into my mouth, tasting me like I did to him. My arms reach out and embrace him, one in his hair and one hugging his waist. My touch is gentle, and I do it with no ulterior motives, I just want to feel his warmth, that's all I need right now. He follows suite and holds me tight, both arms around my waist. He hugs me so tightly that I feel like I might run out of air, as if he is subconsciously scared that I will run away if he doesn't keep me here.  
"I'm not going anywhere Midorima, it's ok." I whisper to him, and once he realises that he was holding me a little too tight, he loosens his grip.  
"I'm sorry Kuroko, did I hurt you? That was silly of-"  
"Shhh," I whisper again, "Don't even worry about it, I thought it was sweet that you held me so close." Some other people might get annoyed if they had to keep reassuring their partner like this, but I really don't mind at all. I love Midorima, and that means I love every part of him- not just the parts which are convenient for me. We continue on like for a while longer, no need to go any further, simply content with the sweet kisses we are exchanging. After a while, we break apart, Midorima noticing the time. I am shocked to see that we have been kissing for 15 minutes already. With everyone else, I get hot, passionate kisses. And while I love them, sometimes it's nice to have a kiss with no rush, no pressure, just myself and someone I love. Midorima can give me this, and I love that. Before I let him leave, I make sure to plant a quick kiss onto his forehead, and to send him home with a love-filled goodbye.  
"See you on Monday Midorima, I love you." It may seem silly, but I like to let my last words to my boyfriends before we part ways be 'I love you.' I hate to think any of them getting into any sort of accident, but I would hate it even more if that happened, and my last words to them were about some argument or something else similar.  
"I'll see you then, I love you too." Midorima tells me back, not even hesitating. His words, even though I've heard them so many times before, fill me with this fuzzy sense of happiness. I walk into my house and make my way up to my bathroom, leaving all my clothes on the floor before sinking into a bathtub full of hot water, hissing in delight as each part of my body comes into contact with the water. I reach for my phone which I brought in as well, and text all my boyfriends, asking if they took any pictures of our date today. Within a few minutes, I get a few photos sent to me in response. Me on Murasakibara's back, a selfie Kise took of us all sitting at my dinner table with our breakfast, a photo Akashi took while Kise, Aomine and I were lying sprawled all over each-other on the bowling lane, and a few others from our day. I look through them all with a smile on my face, remembering the great time I had today. As I look at the photos, in my pleasantly relaxing bath, I can't help but look forward to Monday. It's just a regular school day, not particularly special. But I will get to see my boyfriends again, and that makes it the most special day I could think of.


End file.
